North Dakota New Jobs Training Program PDF Download

Between 2002 and 2012, the rate of job growth in North Dakota will be modest: under 1 percent annually. However, a large number of positions-close to a quarter of all jobs in the state-will open up for hiring due to retirements and separations. In addition, the demand for well-educated employees will only increase over the next several years. In the decade leading up to 2012, healthcare occupations will see growth of 14 percent. Educators will be in demand: some 7,000 new teachers, librarians, and trainers will need to be hired. Computer-related professions will see their ranks swell by 25 percent. The growth of these sectors is good news for North Dakota's citizens, since wages for jobs in these areas are significantly higher than the average for North Dakota in general. The problem for North Dakota and other Western states is how, in this time of tight budgets, to meet the increasing demands on higher education, thereby meeting the needs of an increasingly sophisticated economy. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) was launched specifically to address the shortage of workforce-training opportunities in medicine, dentistry, and other professional fields. WICHE offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional options that help the West's states educate and train their citizens, by promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy among states and institutions. Described in this publication are 3 student exchange programs available to North Dakota students: (1) Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), which allows students to enroll in out-of-state institutions at a reduced tuition level; (2) The Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP) offers students opportunities to train outside of their home state in 14 highly competitive fields: architecture, dentistry, graduate library studies, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, podiatry, public health, and veterinary medicine; and (3) North Dakota students also participate in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), which offers them the chance to engage in graduate studies and includes 175 distinctive programs in 14 states, such as education, nursing, and business. (Contains 2 tables.).