Fort Belknap opens new call center

Island Mountain Development Group, the economic development arm of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, opened a second call center Tuesday.

The new facility in Hays will mean the creation of 270 jobs that will be used for a variety of e-commerce activities, Terry Brockie, chief of staff for Island Mountain, said this morning.

“We just want to grow strategically,” Brockie said.

The additional jobs have a starting hourly salary of $13 with opportunities for advancement, Brockie said. A press release from Island Development said the 13,400 square foot building will include space for call center representatives, executive offices, a training center, an exercise room and an employee cafeteria and kitchen.

Ground was broken on the new call center in July and a public grand opening is planned for sometime late next Spring, Brockie said.

“I am glad the company is growing,” Anthony Stricker, an Island Mountain team leader, said in the release. “I see this growth bringing in a lot of jobs for a lot of people. Especially in my specific company, there is a lot of room as we speak to hire a lot more people.”

Island Mountain opened its first call center in 2011 with 7 employees.

The call center was moved to a new 5,200 square foot facility in 2015, and has grown to about 130 employees since then, Brockie said.

The latest facility will provide job opportunities on Fort Belknap, that has faced high unemployment.

The Montana Department of Labor and Industry website says that in October Fort Belknap had a 8.2 percent unemployment rate, more than double the state’s 3.9 percent unemployment rate during the same period.

Brockie said people can apply for the new positions at http://www.islandmtn.com or by calling 673-3031 to speak with a human resources representative.