When Ed Weymouth, an instructor at Montana Code School, attended a 1 Million Cups meeting in May, he asked the audience if the school was still necessary in Missoula.

Many agreed that, yes, a school that teaches students about coding and other high-tech subjects is necessary, given the industry’s speed of evolution.

There’s still considerable demand for high-tech talent, and according to the Montana High-Tech Business Alliance, the industry is growing up to nine times faster than the overall Montana economy while providing about 1,700 new jobs per year.

By Mari Hall