Growing Job Opportunities in Wyoming

Thanks to funding awarded by the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP), the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute launched a labor-market analysis to identify employment opportunities and gaps in Wyoming. Workforce deficits were examined in key sectors of the state's travel economy, namely outdoor recreation, tourism, hospitality and related industries.

 

The data gathered indicates high numbers of job postings with insufficient numbers of Wyoming graduates to fill open vacancies. Many factors, including salaries, required on-the-job training, and the seasonality of jobs in the travel industry, make it difficult for employers to recruit and retain skilled workers. This deficit gives higher-education institutions in Wyoming an opportunity to tailor their academic programs to appeal to both full-time students and workforce professionals by developing certifications, skills-verification short courses, and other specialized credentials to increase wage potential and meet employer demands.

 

Dr. Mary Katherine Scott, a researcher with the WORTH Institute who conducted the study finds the data particularly encouraging for Wyoming’s graduates. She says, “Wyoming’s higher educational institutions are in a good spot to provide for this growing job market. If academic programs can be creative and nimble, they can tailor their offerings to appeal to a range of learners and satisfy employer needs.”

 

Expanding opportunity through workforce-aligned education connects to the WORTH Institute’s commitment to workforce development as one of its three operational missions. In this study, figures regarding everything from parks-and-recreation management to brewing science were analyzed. In fact, of the industries and markets mentioned, over a thousand annual openings in the featured professions pop up in the state each year, giving graduates ample opportunities for growth as they navigate their careers. 

 

Findings were discussed with faculty and leadership of academic programs at the University of Wyoming and community colleges around the state. Together, the leaders of these programs are working together to strategize relevant and appealing curricular options for students to fill workforce gaps and keep them in Wyoming.

 

“This study underscores the opportunities to up-skill Wyoming’s workforce to serve these important industry segments,” says Dr. Dan McCoy, Director of the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute.  

 

This and more research projects from the WORTH Institute are available at https://www.uwyo.edu/worth/research.html. Please reach out to Dr. Dan McCoy, the institute’s director, at dan.mccoy@uwyo.edu for further information. And view the resource here.