Gov. Spencer Cox recently led a trade mission to Switzerland and Germany with a clear mandate for our delegation of private-sector, academic and government leaders: “We’re not here to take notes. We’re strengthening relationships, learning what works, and bringing it home to build, scale and deliver for Utah families and businesses.”
As we met with global industrial and workforce leaders at educational institutions, trade shows and manufacturing facilities, one thing became clear: Utah’s model of collaboration is world-class. This trip provided ideas and connections to further magnify the work we do as a state and at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development — benchmarking Utah against two of the world’s most disciplined economies to refine our approach across three pillars: Utah’s talent pipeline, creating innovation ecosystems and economic validation.
Utah’s talent pipeline
The most critical asset in any economy is its people. In Utah, we know our young, healthy and well-educated workforce is a strategic advantage. How we educate and train this workforce is crucial to our state’s future, and relationships with leading companies and institutions abroad help inform that effort.
We don’t have to look far to see the Swiss model in action locally. Stadler Rail, with its established presence in Utah, has helped launch innovative in-state training programs and is a natural fit for conversations about skilled workforce and infrastructure growth. Similarly, Doppelmayr — the global leader in gondola and ropeway systems — is already a part of Utah’s talent and manufacturing story, having made significant investments in our state. We visited both organizations in Switzerland.
As we return home, we intend to use these insights to power opportunity locally. Switzerland and Germany have built workforce systems that the United States has long respected but not yet seriously reproduced.
To help challenge that status quo, our delegation included Amy Andre — who leads one of Utah’s most effective dual-track and hands-on learning programs at Talent Ready Utah — alongside leaders from Southern Utah University, Salt Lake Community College and Utah’s K-12 education system. In the coming months and years, these leaders and organizations will continue to test Utah’s approach against proven models to broaden education pathways and ensure Utahns thrive.
Creating innovation ecosystems
Innovation is more likely to occur when it is fueled by intentional ecosystems where ideas collide. At ETH Zurich and Park Innovation, we saw the trisector approach in action — a model in which government, higher education and private industry work in a unified physical place.
This model is one Utah has embraced, and seeing it at work in Switzerland validates our vision for projects of statewide significance and closely tracks what Utah is building at The Point in Draper.
Through The Nucleus Institute and the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah will build a physical space that draws on the best aspects of those we visited in Switzerland, that integrates research and industry into a single hub. Seeing and learning about these successes confirms that building the right place and the right ecosystems around it will attract the world’s brightest minds and catalyze innovation and industry that will help fuel Utah’s economy for decades to come.
Economic validation
Every meeting and connection provided an opportunity to make the case for Utah, and the delegation did so with confidence.
Many of these conversations and moments reinforced the importance of Utah’s guiding economic and civic principles. Global capital gravitates toward predictable governance, fiscal discipline and skilled workforces. Our meetings with firms like Partners Group — which manages nearly $150 billion in assets — confirmed that Utah is a premier investment destination because we support markets as the best way to organize economic activity.
At Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade fair, Utah’s manufacturing strength resonated with global partners, confirming what the data already shows: our state has the manufacturing strength, talent base and geographic advantages that resonate with global companies.
The delegation also met with leaders from Saarland, Utah’s German sister state, where a similar transition from traditional manufacturing toward technology makes the case for a stronger partnership. There, we formalized an expanded agreement focused on AI, quantum computing and aerospace.
Utah offers business something most states cannot: alignment between higher education, government and the private sector; a stable regulatory and economic environment; and the ability to move quickly when opportunity is in front of us.
The Governor framed it this way: “Utah does not change with every election cycle. Our values, our fiscal discipline, our commitment to business — those things are consistent. That is what companies need to know before they move people here.”
What we saw in Europe reinforces what we already know: Utah is building with real momentum, and the world is taking notice.