This report, adapted from an analysis conducted for Salish Kootenai College (SKC) in Pablo, Montana, identifies high-demand and high-opportunity green job fields in Montana’s Flathead region and across the state. It discusses the skills students need for good, sustainable jobs, the trainings (existing and missing) needed to prepare them for those jobs, and opportunities to expand or adapt academic curriculums.

Why This Matters

For students equipped with the right skillsets, there are opportunities to find good jobs in green sectors. Certain skills and credentials are transferable across green jobs and can prepare students to succeed in multiple job clusters. Identifying them within a region or state can inform where educational institutions should invest their scarce resources, whether for new training, programs, staff, or infrastructure.

What We Found

In our analysis we identified six relevant green jobs clusters in Montana: smart manufacturing, clean energy, green building, responsible food systems, water resources management, and land and forest management. Across these clusters, we found the following:

• Some jobs that have applications across green jobs clusters have higher quality or pay than expected relative to the education and skill requirements needed to access those jobs. These include electrician, electric powerline installer and repairer, and welder, cutter, solderer, and brazer.
• Some jobs are expected to grow more than others in Montana, including CNC programmer, industrial machinery mechanic, machinist, electrician, wind turbine technician, solar technician, agricultural equipment operator, agriculture technician, environmental science/protection technician, and plumber.
• Many skills and credentials are transferable across green job clusters.

We identified multiple Strategies educational institutions can use to prepare students for green jobs.

Training and course considerations: Educational institutions can adapt existing coursework and trainings to include more exercises in the real-time problem solving and workflow communication that are needed in many green jobs. Educators should prioritize experiential learning opportunities, including hands-on labs, instruction from industry partners, and real-world installations. They can also consider introducing new industry-specific course content and more advanced technical skills that are needed in green jobs.

Partners: Strong partnerships with other educators, including regional universities and tribal colleges, can help educational institutions access, leverage, and design new coursework. In addition, having frequent formal touchpoints with regional employers can keep educational institutions up-to-date with the latest industry technologies, equipment, materials, methods, and processes. Hosting hands-on projects on campus with practitioner partners can be beneficial, especially in places where it is challenging for students to access transportation to offsite apprenticeships.

Infrastructure and equipment investments: Investing in equipment and spaces can help educational institutions better serve students preparing for green jobs. Institutions can also explore the logistics of how to expose more students to experiential learning, training opportunities, and job opportunities, especially in rural areas where students may need transportation to where larger employers are based.

How We Did It

We combined a quantitative analysis of publicly available labor market data and qualitative findings from interviewees in the Flathead region and across Montana. The quantitative analysis involved a programs-to-occupations crosswalk between Classification of Instructional Programs codes and Standard Occupational Classification codes. We projected the growth of occupations in the Flathead region and in Montana and developed a job quality framework for identifying “good” green Montana jobs and comparing job quality across growing sectors. We supplement our quantitative analysis and findings with qualitative findings from interviews of education and training providers, green jobs employers and intermediaries, students, and workforce and tribal leaders from the Flathead region and across Montana.