Missoula College Launches Jobs for Montana Graduates Program

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - I spoke on Wednesday with Sarah Swanson, Director of the Montana Commissioner of Labor and Industry about a new program being introduced at Missoula College called the Jobs for Montana’s Graduates.

“We have formed a partnership with Missoula College to launch our first chapter on a two-year college campus in Montana of ‘Jobs for Montana Graduates’,” began Swanson. “That is a program that we run at the Department of Labor for young people. We have 69 current chapters at middle and high schools around Montana. We have one tribal college chapter at the Fort Peck Community College, and we're so excited to bring it to Missoula College.”

Missoula College Gets 'Jobs for Montana Graduates' Program

Swanson said over 1500 students in Montana are taking advantage of the program.

“We have over 1,600 kids in Montana that participate in JMG (Jobs for Montana Graduates) at their middle and high schools, and we know that JMG works,” she said. “It is a barrier buster. It helps young people through project-based learning working with their peers, and overcoming obstacles. It allows them to focus on 37 core career competencies, the soft skills that we hear employers talk about so much.”

Swanson specifically pointed out the advantages of the JMG program.

It Teaches How to Get a Job, Keep and Job, and Quit a Job

“It really teaches them three things, how to get a job, how to keep a job, and how to quit a job the right way when it's time,” she said. “Through all that work, we know that many of these 1,600 students are going to be headed to college at some point, and giving them the safety net of a JMG chapter on their campus when they get to their two-year college is a great way to ensure additional success.”

Swanson provided even more ambitious goals for the JMG program.

69 School Districts so far Have JMG Programs

“We know there are 398 school districts in Montana, and right now we have JMG programs in 69 schools around Montana,” she said. “In your backyard, Peter, we have them in places like Hamilton, Corvallis, Big Sky, and Frenchtown. Those are all of the schools that are going to feed into this new Missoula partnership. But at the end of the day, the governor has challenged us to try to put a JMG chapter in every middle and high school in Montana, and we are aggressively working on that goal.”

Swanson signed a memorandum of agreement with Missoula College Dean Tom Gallagher, and classes are already underway.