What these statistics tell me is that you not only have educated workers, but your next generation is cut from the same cloth. In addition to a strong base for knowledge workers, North Dakota also has a strong knowledge infrastructure. As we see at North Carolina s Research Triangle, Austin, Texas and other new high-tech boomtowns, the new Internet Age industries tend to cluster around established education and research institutions. The North Dakota University System is a critically important asset. I commend UND s Center for Innovation for helping technology entrepreneurs, innovators and manufacturers that want to start up new ventures, commercialize new products, and license new technologies.
Integrity is another key attribute in a good workforce.
North Dakotans reputation for having strong values and solid virtues is not a stereotype. For instance, look at student loan default rates. North Dakota s are absolutely the lowest in the nation, at 2.8 percent. Another measure I am more familiar with is mortgage delinquency rates. Here again, North Dakotans are 15 percent less likely to default than the average American is.