Jobs & Workforce

Montana’s greatest resource is its people.

I believe a strong economy starts with making sure Montanans have the opportunity to learn a skill, earn a good living, support a family, and build a future without feeling like they have to leave the state to find opportunity.

For too long, we have treated a four-year college degree as though it is the only respectable path to success. It is not. Montana needs electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, carpenters, welders, equipment operators, mechanics, HVAC technicians, health-care workers, teachers, truck drivers, farmers, ranchers, and countless other skilled professionals.

As a journeyman plumber and pipefitter, I know firsthand what a skilled trade can provide. Apprenticeship gave me a career, practical experience, and the ability to earn while learning. I believe more young Montanans deserve that same opportunity.

Expanding Skilled Trades Education

I want Montana schools to give students more opportunities to explore skilled careers before they graduate.

Career and technical education should not be treated as a secondary option. For many students, it can be the beginning of a successful lifelong career.

I support expanding programs in areas such as plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, welding, HVAC, construction, agriculture, mechanics, and other high-demand fields.

Where possible, students should be able to receive meaningful credit or recognized hours toward future apprenticeship programs while they are still in high school.

A student should be able to graduate from a Montana high school not only knowing what career they want, but already having taken their first steps toward it.

Strengthening Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship is one of the most effective workforce-development systems we have.

It combines classroom education with real-world experience and allows workers to earn a paycheck while developing a valuable skill.

I support stronger partnerships between schools, employers, unions, contractors, and apprenticeship programs to create more pathways into skilled careers.

In larger communities, that may mean expanding existing vocational programs. In smaller rural schools, we should explore ways for licensed professionals and instructors to travel between communities so students are not denied opportunities simply because of their ZIP code.

Workforce development has to work for rural Montana too.

Supporting Workers and Good Wages

I believe that if someone works hard and contributes to their community, they should have a realistic chance to build a stable life.

That means wages matter.

Montana cannot build a strong economy if the people constructing our schools, maintaining our infrastructure, caring for our families, producing our food, and keeping our businesses running cannot afford to live here.

I support prevailing-wage standards on public projects and believe workers should have the freedom to organize and collectively advocate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Strong businesses and strong workers are not opposing interests.

The healthiest economy is one in which businesses can succeed, workers can make a living, and communities benefit from both.

Protecting Montana Workers

Workplace safety should never be treated as optional.

People working in construction, agriculture, transportation, mining, manufacturing, and other physically demanding industries accept enough risk simply by doing their jobs.

Employers should compete on quality, efficiency, and craftsmanship—not on who is willing to cut the most corners when it comes to worker safety or compensation.

I believe Montana should enforce fair labor standards while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy that makes it harder for responsible employers to operate.

Good employers should not be placed at a competitive disadvantage against businesses that ignore the rules.

Building Montana’s Workforce at Home

Montana faces workforce shortages in many industries.

We can recruit workers from outside the state when necessary, but our first priority should be developing the people who already live here.

That means introducing students to careers earlier, expanding apprenticeships, improving technical education, and helping people transition into new careers later in life.

It also means recognizing that workforce development is closely tied to affordability.

Training someone for a good-paying job accomplishes little if that person still cannot afford housing, child care, transportation, or basic living expenses in the community where they work.

Workforce policy and affordability policy have to work together.

Supporting Small Businesses and Contractors

Small businesses are responsible for a significant part of Montana’s economy, particularly in rural communities.

I believe state policy should make it easier for responsible Montana businesses and contractors to compete.

Whenever practical, public projects should create opportunities for Montana companies and Montana workers rather than automatically sending taxpayer dollars outside the state.

We should also continue looking for ways to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on small businesses while maintaining important protections for workers, consumers, and taxpayers.

A strong workforce needs strong employers, and strong employers need skilled workers.

Respecting Every Career Path

There should be dignity in work.

Whether someone earns a living on a ranch, on a construction site, behind a desk, in a classroom, in a hospital, in a mine, or running a small business, their contribution matters.

I want young Montanans to understand that success does not have one definition.

College should remain accessible for students who choose that path. Apprenticeships and technical careers should receive the same respect and attention.

The question should not be, “Did you go to college?”

The question should be, “Did Montana give you the tools to build the life you wanted?”

Keeping Montana Talent in Montana

One of the biggest challenges facing our state is losing talented young people because they believe they have to leave Montana to find opportunity.

We should be working to reverse that.

If we train a young electrician, nurse, welder, teacher, mechanic, engineer, or rancher in Montana, I want that person to see a future here.

That requires good jobs, competitive wages, affordable communities, and opportunities for advancement.

We should measure workforce policy not simply by how many training programs we create, but by how many Montanans are able to turn those programs into stable careers.

A Montana-First Workforce

My approach to workforce policy comes from personal experience.

I have worked with my hands. I have gone through apprenticeship. I know what it is like to work on a job site, solve problems in the field, and depend on the skills of the people working beside you.

I believe Montana should recognize the value of that kind of work and invest in the next generation of people who will keep this state running.

We do not need to choose between supporting businesses and supporting workers. We need an economy where both can succeed.

My goal is straightforward:

Teach skills. Expand apprenticeships. Respect hard work. Pay people fairly. And give Montanans the opportunity to build their future right here at home.