Time to connect economic development dots "The place with the best-prepared work force wins,"

There was an interesting — and revealing — confluence of news last week.

And it illustrated a trend that ought to give severe heartburn to anyone who cares about economic development in Montana.

Great Falls Tribune

In short, the stories told how the state is skimping on funding for higher education at the same time that economic development gurus are preaching the importance of education, and at the same time that Montana employers say they can’t find enough qualified employees.

Do these dots need further connecting?

Consider these developments:

# In a survey of Great Falls businesses, 78 percent of respondents say their employees need training. But the poll by the Community Economic Development Council also revealed that 55 percent of those answering don’t believe there are adequate educational resources available locally.

"There are some things we really need to talk about as a community," said Mary Moe, dean of MSU-Great Falls College of Technology.

# In a Chamber of Commerce survey of 129 Montana employers, just over half of them said it is difficult or very difficult to find qualified job applicants.

The report, part of a national survey, also ranked Montana below average in work-force training.

It said that one-quarter of employers here haven’t given employees any training in the past year. That compares with a national average of 7 percent.

"The responses confirm our impressions regarding work force problems in Montana," Montana Chamber President Webb Brown said. "The projected work-force shortage is already here. Although Montana business is doing very well in adding jobs and wages, we could be in trouble in very short order."

# Speakers at last week’s Montana Economic Development Summit in Billings described education as a major factor for improving economic conditions.

Keynote speaker John Morgridge, chairman of the board of Cisco Systems, called education the single most important component of economic development.

# nd Emily DeRocco of the U.S. Department of Labor said Montana’s first goal should be to develop an educated work force.

"The place with the best-prepared work force wins," said DeRocco.

# The Montana Board of Regents, faced with the potential of serious program cuts, instead voted last week to increase tuition by nearly $40 million over the next two years.

It’s been a decade since the state increased what it pays for the university system. In that time, tuition jumped radically to make up for increasing costs.

We’re now dangerously close to the point of either cutting into the number and quality of programs available to students, or pricing Montanans out of an education.

Neither option is acceptable, especially when it’s so clear that Montana businesses are almost begging for better-educated and better-trained employees.

The university system isn’t the only resource for employee education and training, but it is the most important one. And state leaders — at least those who care about better jobs for Montanans — ought to be out banging the drum for increased support for the system.

Until that happens, all the talk about economic development is only that. Talk.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030603/opinion/411989.html