Technical colleges see growing enrollment

From wbay.com: “Technical colleges see growing enrollment” — According to the Wisconsin technical college system, about 400,000 people enroll in the state’s technical colleges each year — a number that’s up from years past.

Over the past seven years, the number of applications to Northeast Wisconsin Technical College shot up 56 percent. Enrollment has seen a near 30-percent increase.

“We think that’s for a number of reasons. People are finding that technical education is the way to advance or start a career in Northeast Wisconsin because of our workforce,” Karen Smits, vice president of college advancement, said.

Jim Golembeski, executive director at Bay Area Workforce Development, said the job market is simply better for technical students.

“The truth is that if you look at jobs just in Wisconsin and even jobs in Northeast Wisconsin, more than half of those jobs are what we call middle skill jobs, and a middle skill job is defined as a job that requires more than high school but less than a four-year degree,” he said.

Eighty-five percent of technical college students in Wisconsin land jobs within six months of graduation.

The median salary is $36,000.

Technical college is also about getting more bang for your buck in the tough economic climate.

The average cost of a two-year program at NWTC ranges from $5,000 to $7,000. Compare that to a private, four-year college, which could cost upwards of $100,000.