Growing Montana’s Future Tech Workforce: Field Notes from the Front Lines
May 30, 2025
From Browning to Lewistown to Helena, this spring was a busy season for advancing Montana’s tech talent pipeline. The MHTBA and Montana Jobs Network hit the road to connect with students, educators, and employers who are shaping the next generation of STEM workers in our state. Whether launching the 2025 Hot Montana Jobs report at the STEM Summit, touring Spika Manufacturing’s aerospace platform factory, or engaging Blackfeet youth in career games at EconoQuest, these initiatives reveal the growing energy behind Montana’s high-tech workforce.
Montana STEM Summit:
Launched our 2025 Hot Montana Jobs report in Helena and joined a statewide conversation on emerging tech skills.
Inside the Montana STEM Summit in Helena on April 3, 2025, hosted by the Montana Afterschool Alliance. The event featured a cross-sector gathering for collaboration and innovation to shape the future of STEM education in Montana. Photo by Christina Henderson.
The Alliance and MJN were thrilled to speak to educators in Helena at the Montana STEM Summit on April 3, 2025. Executive Director Christina Henderson announced the launch of our new 2025 Hot Montana Jobs report — a tool to help educators, students/families, and communities discover high-demand, high-wage careers available right here in the Treasure State.
The industry panel “Workforce Development and Emerging Tech” highlighted skills needed in STEM fields —continuous learning, problem-solving, and a “get-er-done” attitude — that are already part of the culture on farms and ranches in Montana’s rural communities. Several featured programs are expanding opportunities in photonics and quantum:
The Headwaters Tech Hub includes $10 million for Salish Kootenai College to prepare students for photonics jobs.
The Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance (MPQA) piloted the SparkAlpha curriculum, helping students in Glendive and Billings explore photonics and semiconductor technologies.
QCORE funded quantum kits for classrooms to celebrate World Quantum Day, April 14, 2025.
Panelists from left to right: Jayne Morrow, CEO, QCORE; Marcel Klessen, General Manager, VACOM; Jason Yager, Executive Director, MPQA; Logan Kruse, Communications Officer, MT Department of Ag; and moderator Andy Shirtliff, Executive Director, MT Building Industry Association. Photo by Christina Henderson.
Spika Design and Manufacturing Tour:
Showcased rural innovation and global aerospace impact from Lewistown.
Katie Spika, CEO of Spika Design and Manufacturing, Christina Henderson, Executive Director of the MHTBA & MJN, and members of the Montana Work-based Learning Collaborative.
Katie Spika, CEO of Spika Design and Manufacturing in Lewistown, hosted MHTBA and MJN executive director Christina Henderson and other members of the Montana Work-based Learning Collaborative for a facility tour on April 16, 2025.
Named Montana exporter of the year in 2012, Spika is a family-owned business that builds platforms for global clients in industries like aerospace, aviation, mass transit, and data centers for clients including SpaceX, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin.
EconoQuest Browning:
Brought high-wage job opportunities to Blackfeet students through a high-energy “Hot Jobs Showdown.”
EconoQuest at Browning High School on April 25, 2025, hosted by the Montana World Affairs Council. EconoQuest is a ground-breaking international economic literacy program that excites high school students about real-world economics and career opportunities. When BHS had to drop out of the state EconoQuest event, Montana World Affairs Council Executive Director Nikki Geizler and her team brought the world to Browning instead. Photo by Christina Henderson.
On April 25, 2025, Executive Director Christina Henderson was honored to represent the MHTBA and MJN at Browning High School (BHS) in the heart of the Blackfeet Reservation. When BHS had to drop out of the state EconoQuest event last minute, Nikki Geiszler and the Montana World Affairs Council brought the world to Browning instead.
Engaging students in classrooms and through our “Hot Montana Jobs Showdown,” Henderson highlighted high-paying tech careers that could be done close to home. She joined a powerhouse team of speakers from across Montana, including Misty Kuhl, Montana Department of Commerce- ExportMontana, Code Girls United, the Montana Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance, the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, and Reach Higher Montana.
MHTBA & MJN Executive Director Christina Henderson with three Browning High School students during our “Hot Montana Jobs Showdown” game at EconoQuest in Browning, April 25, 2025. Students used flyswatters to hit the target and guess the correct answer to multiple-choice questions related to the recently released 31 Hot Montana Jobs in 2025 report to learn about high-paying and high-growth career pathways in Montana.
“It was a privilege to visit with students and teachers at Browning High School and hear about their wide-ranging interests—from true crime to basketball and boxing—and their inspiring career goals, including becoming an ultrasound tech, veterinarian, electrician, investor, or neurosurgeon,” said Henderson. “I also learned about local employers offering tech-connected jobs, like Glacier Peaks Hotel and Casino and Siyeh Communications, owned by the Blackfeet Tribe. A highlight of the day was sharing the story of Charles Werk, a former MHTBA intern from Fort Belknap who founded InnoNative Solutions LLC, and introducing students to programs like Montana American Indians in Math and Science (MT-AIMS) that support Indigenous youth in pursuing STEM careers.”
About the Publisher: Launched in 2014, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance is a nonpartisan nonprofit association of more than 200 high tech and manufacturing companies and affiliates creating high-paying jobs in Montana. For more information, visit MTHighTech.org or subscribe to our biweekly newsletter.
The Montana Jobs Network (MJN) was established in 2001 as a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit to promote skilled workforce development in Montana, and in 2023 became affiliated with the Montana High Tech Business Alliance (MHTBA). Montana Jobs Network shares staff and resources with the MHTBA, but is governed by an independent board of directors. For more information visit MTHighTech.org/montana-jobs-network.
