Jobs are there for qualified applicants in North Dakota

Though North Dakota’s unemployment rate may be half the national figure, the state, like the national job market, has to find qualified people to fill good-paying career jobs that are in demand.

The problem is that applicants who may have just lost their jobs generally lack the right experience for new positions in high demand — locally, that’s in health care and engineering. Recruiters are less willing to hire untested workers.

“Workers are going to have to find not just a new company, but a new industry,” said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director of Moody’s Economy.com.

Tom Fetch at Job Service North Dakota said the largest volume of high-demand local jobs is in health care, particularly nurses and technicians. The department does various surveys to determine the top 40 hot jobs in the state, as well as the careers that require four- and two-year degrees, he said.

According to ndworkforceintelligence.

com, the top 16 in-demand jobs in North Dakota require a bachelor’s degree or higher. The top six and their average salaries for 2008 were:

- Computer software engineer: $68,111.

- Computer and information system manager: $77,280.

- Industrial engineer: $65,997.

- Physician assistant: $70,669.

- Mechanical engineer: $64,665.

- Engineering manager: $88,785.

The Web site also lists the top 25 careers requiring two years of college and vocational jobs requiring a year or less.

Nursing is expected to see the highest growth through 2016. Nurses in North Dakota with a two-year degree earned a typical annual wage of $51,253 in 2008. The next highest-growing careers are computer support specialists at an annual salary of $32,369 and dental hygienists at $55,396.

The highest-growing jobs requiring vocational training are nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, which paid about $22,657 on average in 2008. Practical and vocational nurses were paid $33,876.

Employers who demand specialized training — such as biotech firms that need plant scientists or energy companies that need geotechnical engineers — struggle even more to fill jobs. There are five jobs among North Dakota’s top 40 that offer moderate- to long-term on-the-job training.

- Derrick operators, oil and gas: $47,707.

- Sales representatives for technical and scientific products: $55,447.

- Rotary drill operators, oil and gas: $46,988.

- Service unit operators in oil, gas and mining: $42,528.

- Electricians: $43,976.

Fetch said North Dakota will reimburse some employers for on-the-job training.

“We administer the Federal Workers Investment Act, which helps find work for the economically disadvantaged,” Fetch said. “Those who lost jobs because of a business downsizing or closing are also eligible.”

Labor analysts say that nationally, there are jobs for accountants, health care workers, software sales representatives, actuaries, data analysts, physical therapists and electrical engineers.