As nearly half of the nation’s energy workers prepare for retirement in the next decade, North Dakota’s own energy industry is positioned to either lose big or win big.  It’s already difficult to recruit workers to small rural towns.  In spite of the booming oil, the continued coal mining and the increasing emphasis on wind and biomass energy, a shortage of workers could mean a stop to energy-driven economic development in the state.

Or the reverse could happen.  A shortage of workers could mean more college students will begin to look seriously at energy careers.  At the very least, it could bring some attention to the energy training programs at Bismarck State College.  On a wider scale, as more students begin looking seriously at energy related careers, they may also see the benefits of a good paying job in small rural communities where they can afford to buy homes and live the Great American Dream.

There is a tremendous amount of potential job opportunities in North Dakota’s energy industry.  Marketing those jobs, along with the best parts of rural living, could help solve the state’s outmigration trouble.