Jobs and job creation were the topics today for Montana’s gubernatorial candidates.
The Bullock Administration announced Montana received $1.3 million from the U.S. Labor Department to expand apprenticeship programs.
Governor Steve Bullock, D-MT, announced the award during a press conference at the Capitol.
“This new funding will be used to dramatically expand apprenticeship opportunities in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, energy, information technology, finance and skilled trades,” he says.
The Montana Registered Apprenticeship program was created in 1941. It works as an employer-designed training program to teach specific and technical jobs skills. When someone goes through the program, they receive a certificate, like a diploma, that is recognized in all 50 states.
“For apprentices, these programs provide the chance for them to earn a pay check while learning the skills needed for employers to grow their operations,” says State Department of Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy.
Jobs were also the topic for Republican Gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte, the keynote speaker at the annual Montana Chamber of Commerce meeting in Billings.
The Bozeman businessman calls entrepreneurship the heart of the private sector. The founder of RightNow Technologies believes children, as young as six, should be encouraged to start their own business.
“The beauty of starting young with kids is they don’t know things are impossible,” Gianforte says. He says adults make business too complicated.
He adds it’s unfortunate business and success have become villainized in this country, “Winston Churchill said, when referring to the private sector some think of it as a predatory lion that must be shot. Other people think the private sector is a cow that needs to be milked, but Winston Churchill said no it’s the horse that pulls the entire cart.”
He says it shouldn’t be complicated to help Montanans start a small business.
Jobs are a top issue in Montana’s gubernatorial race. According to the Mason-Dixon poll conducted for Lee Newspapers, Gianforte and Bullock are locked in a tight race for governor. The general election is November 8, 2016, although absentee ballots were mailed out to registered voters beginning October 14, 2016.
