NASHUA – Anheuser-Busch Plant Manager Dennis Nesbitt has a hard time getting people with electrical and instrumentation skills to come work at the Merrimack brewery.

So Anheuser-Busch has embarked on a mission to find local trade schools to help out.

“We had to go to UMASS Lowell to get that done,” Nesbitt said. “New Hampshire Technical College couldn’t support us here when we went to them. But we went to UMASS Lowell and found a great program there.”

Nesbitt’s comments came during a meeting between area business leaders, Gov. John Lynch and Department of Resources and Economic Development Commissioner George Bald on Friday morning at Nashua High School North.

About 50 people attended the hour-long meeting, which drew several state representatives, Mayor Bernie Streeter and officials from companies including BAE Systems, Pennichuck Corp. and Skillsoft PLC.

The group discussed how to create and retain jobs in Nashua and the region. In particular, the governor and commissioner sought solution-focused input on the cost of doing business in the state, improving the coordination of state services for businesses, promoting an advanced telecommunications structure and building a stronger work force.

“I really think New Hampshire’s economy is strong today and is poised to get even stronger,” Lynch said.

But he outlined several unsolved issues, such as the need for more affordable housing and asked the audience not only for solutions but also for insight on what the state could do to help make it easier for businesses to grow and prosper in the state.

There were many suggestions.

Nesbitt said another big issue is that new college graduates leave New Hampshire for other states. Here, Nesbitt said, a person needs to earn $70,000 a year in order to afford a medium-priced home in the Nashua area.

In response to Nesbitt’s remarks about the local technical college, Dr. William Simonton, commissioner of the New Hampshire Community Technical College System, said any program can be implemented in the system, but it always comes down to resources.

Simonton later told Nesbitt that he wanted to learn more about the situation at Anheuser-Busch, Nesbitt said.

Michael Fishbein, vice president for academic affairs and provost at Daniel Webster College, said work force development is crucial.

“A state site where we could go to find out who needs what would help us shape programs,” Fishbein said.

Jeanne Dietsch, chief executive officer of robot software developer MobileRobots in Amherst, said she has aees with even basic skills.

“The kids don’t know how to turn a screwdriver,” she said. “They don’t’ know how to sodder.”

She said attracting high-level workers means having top-notch schools, which would bring the talent that her company and others need.

Dietsch said her company attracts candidates from all over the world, but she can’t accept two-thirds of the resumes she gets because the applicants aren’t U.S. citizens.

David Murotake, president of SCA Technica Inc. of Nashua, a consulting and design firm in the software-defined radio industry, has the same problem.

“Most of the students are from India, Turkey, China or Japan,” Murotake said. I can’t afford that. I need U.S. citizens. And I’d love to be able to have them be local.”

Murotake also said he noticed that people with computer science degrees don’t have a mix of other studies, and that’s what they need, he said. He offered to help the local colleges create a curriculum for entry-level engineers that could help meet the needs of companies like his.

Jeff Rose, manager of legislative affairs for BAE Systems, stressed the importance of manufacturing in New Hampshire, adding that one of seven jobs in the state is a manufacturing job.

New Hampshire is the only state around that doesn’t have a research and development tax credit, Rose noted. “I’d really encourage the state to look at that again for the next legislative session,” he said.

The cost of energy for a manufacturer like BAE is significant and adds up quickly, Rose said. “New Hampshire has high electric rates,” he said.

Lynch agreed and asked Rose what should be done.

Rose suggested the state look at community grants, have a diverse energy base and provide dependable and affordable energy sources.

Judging by the number of hands that kept going up in the room, Friday’s forum could have gone on for at least another hour. Lynch said that anyone with ideas or suggestions should call his office or e-mail him and that he plans to hold similar forums throughout the state in the coming months. After that, he will be back with concrete proposals, he said.

“This really isn’t the end of the discussion,” Lynch said. “This is only the beginning.”