Montana economy faces new generation of workers – "The No. 1 issue: workforce availability

If Montana has one economic issue to solve, it’s building up the numbers of qualified and available workers, economic developers learned Thursday at a conference here.

"The No. 1 issue: workforce availability," Evan Barrett, chief business development officer in Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s office, told the more than 145 members of the nonprofit Montana Economic Developers Association http://www.medamembers.org who gathered for the three-day conference.

Each of the regions of Montana has individual problems, but the shortage of qualified and available workers is the state’s common denominator, Barrett said.

By CAMDEN EASTERLING Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/11/04/news/02worker.txt