A new statewide campaign is highlighting growing career opportunities in some of Wyoming’s leading industries.

“Forge Your Future” aims to demonstrate that Wyomingites “don’t need to leave home to find meaningful, well-paying work,” according to the Department of Workforce Services and the Workforce Development Council.

“With an eye on the future of Wyoming’s workforce, Forge Your Future aims to provide awareness of the occupations that are thriving and in-demand in Wyoming for the unemployed or underemployed job seekers who are looking to transition into these industries,” the agencies said in a joint release.

A University of Wyoming economic forecast from late last year found ‘brain drain’ to be a sticking issue. A little more than a third of UW alumni still live in the state among graduates between 2007 to 2024, continuing an out-migration trend of college-educated young people.

Wyoming has started to see population gains over the past few years, reaching an estimated 587,619 residents as of July 2024, according to the state Economic Analysis Division. That amounted to a gain of 2,551 people, or .4%, over the year prior.

The state initiated the campaign to raise awareness about jobs in construction, manufacturing, trades, healthcare, and tourism and hospitality. Also, the educational and training paths to get there.

The series of videos profiles workers in plumbing, pipefitting, scheduling, plant operations, electrical instrumentation and others. Also, the operations manager for Mountain Meadow Mill in Buffalo.

“I am the main point of contact for custom orders that are entering production here at the mill and I help try to guide clients to process their fiber to what they want,” said Ellie Filius in one video. “We're one of the only manufacturers within the US that can process greasy fiber from freshly sheared off the sheep to a finished product.”

The project is funded with dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that state lawmakers appropriated in 2022.

The Forge Your Future campaign will continue rolling out videos through 2026.