Watford’s Bakken Area Skills Center to aid students and train local workers

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (KUMV) - Watford City will soon have a new career and technical education (CTE) facility which aims to help both students and employers.

The Bakken Area Skills Center will provide more CTE opportunities for students in northwest and central North Dakota. While it will be operated by the McKenzie County School District, Superintendent Steve Holen says industry employers will be able to use the facility for training their workers, as well as reaching out to students.

“We want to go into this to try and solve the workforce problem. It wasn’t just to have a fancy building. It was truly to make a dent in that,” said Holen.

Employers will be able to hold classes and training by the end of 2023, while high school classes inside the Skills Center will start in 2024.