Non-competes are generally meant to deter employees from going to a competitor. They are almost impossible to enforce, even in the states that allow for such enforcement, and more importantly, incredibly expensive to attempt to enforce.
I have been a part of myriad non-compete fights in my career. The companies attempting to enforce them almost never win - and they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the attempt. It's not about winning - it's about deterrence.
The last fight I was a part of, my company hired a relatively low-level buyer from another company in the industry - a very well known name. They sued him and we chose to defend him. The case went to arbitration and we spent over $800k defending the suit. We won the arbitration but the arbitrator refused to award our fees. So, the former employer spent a fortune (I'm sure it was close to what we spent defending), the employee remained with us, and everyone walked away. But the prior employer had made a point to all of their current employees - go to a competitor and we will attempt to bankrupt you and your next employer.
I wrote the non-compete my former employer uses. It's over a page long. When I left I told them I would not honor it - and I haven't. They don't want to come after me b/c they don't want it on the record that their non-compete won't be enforced. They just want to be able to keep employees just afraid enough not to go to a competitor.
The solution - draft a strong non-disclosure agreement, ditch the non-compete, and move on.
LGB