Missoulian: Tech hub designation in MT estimated to create 10K new jobs, $10B in economic activity

Montana’s designation as a “tech hub” by the federal government is estimated to be a huge economic driver over the next decade, according to Todd O’Hair, the president and CEO of the Montana Chamber of Commerce.

“Over the course of the next 10 years, it’s believed that it will generate $10 billion worth of activity in the state of Montana,” O’Hair told a crowd in Missoula recently. “And draw in 1,000 companies. And some of these are going to be companies that have got an office somewhere in Montana, taking advantages. A lot of it’s going to be new companies that are starting as a result of this. And 10,000 new jobs.”

And all that economic activity means a variety of new employment opportunities here in the Treasure State, he said.

“And these are going to be a wide array of jobs available to our kids,” O’Hair continued. “Both those jobs that require some real basic first skills, where you can graduate high school and go straight to the workforce and jobs that require a little bit of additional training and education achieved through a two-year college all the way up to the very fancy Ph.D. and advanced sort of degrees.”

O’Hair didn’t mince his words when he talked about how exciting the project is for the state.

“So the opportunities that it’s going to create for Montana is tremendous,” he said.

He was speaking at the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research’s annual midyear update. O’Hair noted that people often ask him about the tech hub, and their first question is always “where’s the office going to be and what’s the building going to look like?”

But, O’Hair said, the designation means that there really won’t be a “central location.” Instead, manufacturing jobs will likely be added in rural parts of the state and research and development jobs will be created in places like Missoula and Bozeman and at tribal colleges. The impacts will be spread far and wide, he explained.

Montana was one of 31 places selected out of 198 applicants for the “tech hub” designation. Now, the Headwaters Tech Hub has already gotten a $41 million Phase 2 investment from the federal government.

The University of Montana, Montana State University, Salish Kootenai College and the Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance will all be beneficiaries of the funding.

The “tech hub” designation for Montana was made to help the United States develop “smart optical sensing technologies,” according to U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, who both have touted the funding.

Bozeman and Montana State University will have to have a big role to play, because there are several photonics companies in that area. However, the tech hub will be led by Accelerate Montana, which is based on the University of Montana campus in Missoula.

O’Hair said he knows there’s an elephant in the room when anyone talks about bringing in more companies and more jobs to Montana. That would be the issue of housing, or the lack thereof.

“I know particularly in places like Missoula, it’s like, ‘Yeah well I’m not sure this is great news,'” O’Hair conceded. “10,000 new jobs and 1,000 new companies, is that really what we need at this time? But I will remind you and all of us, that this is exactly what we’ve been wanting for generations. How many times have we talked about the need to diversify Montana’s economy? How many times have we talked about the need to create different and new opportunities for our kids and grandkids to stay here?”

O’Hair said Montana is in a “bit of a growing pain area” right now.

“And it’s because we’re popular,” he said. “It’s because people want to do business in Montana. And the result of that is going to give us some stretch marks. But I’m convinced we can solve these challenges. And we’re not going to solve them overnight, but we will solve these problems.”

He said Montana is growing, and that’s a good thing.

“I like to point out that you don’t drive by a community that is declining in population and recognize that as a community that is thriving,” he said. “Communities that are thriving are growing, and that’s what we’re experiencing right now. This is creating opportunities for us that we never dreamed of.”

O’Hair said that many people, including him, graduated college in the early 1990s and left Montana to find a job elsewhere. 

“And then spent the next 10 years scratching and clawing and trying to cobble a way to get back home,” he said. “There are opportunities for our kids that we never imagined. And this has the potential to be an important part of diversifying our economy and providing more opportunities for our kids.”

Part of O’Hair’s message was that parents want their kids to stay in Montana, and kids want to stay in Montana to be near family as well.

“We want them to be able to have that choice rather than being forced to leave the state because of economic reasons,” O’Hair said. “So I say all this because I’m really bullish on tech. I’m really bullish on the place that we sit here today.”

University of Montana president Seth Bodnar was equally enthusiastic about the tech hub’s promise when the $41 million was awarded earlier this summer.

“The Headwaters Tech Hub is a big win for UM, Montana, and this entire region of the country,” Bodnar said. “This is a catalyst for what will be a truly transformative impact for our state and region through the advancement of photonic smart sensors for application in natural resource management and autonomous systems.”