College Of Technology programs helping prepare students to enter work force

Tawana Henson, 21, is working on a two-year, administrative-assistant degree at the Montana State University-Billings College of Technology to help her land a job at a bank after she graduates.

She doesn’t plan to stop there. She hopes to go on for her bachelor’s degree in a business-related field.

Stories By MARY PICKETT Of The Gazette Staff

Rakell Petrini, 45, also is in the administrative-assistant program and wants to work for a large corporation when she finishes. Before moving to Montana, Petrini worked as a dispatcher for a trucking firm in Georgia.

Dennis Yuhas, 48, worked for Wells Fargo as a computer technician in Helena before starting a degree in computer technology in Billings.

Wells Fargo is paying for most of his education, and Yuhas continues to work for the company in Billings.

His classes and work dovetail perfectly.

"A good portion of what I’m learning I can use on my job," he said.

The training he receives at the College of Technology will help him advance in the company after he graduates.

Henson, Petrini and Yuhas illustrate the range of students at the College of Technology. Some, not long out of high school, are just starting out. Others are retraining for new jobs. Others need mid-career training to move up in their fields.

Over the last year, the college has been changing from a traditional technical school into a community college within the university.

That change will help students to better prepare for the future, college officials said.

As a community college, the school will be the starting point for students’ educations, enabling them to progress from two-year degrees to bachelor’s degree and beyond.

The College of Technology also will emphasize the "community" in community college, said John Cech, the college’s dean.

Cech sees the college becoming a central meeting place for West End Billings.

"Until now, the community center has been Barnes and Noble," he said.

The college also will continue to work closely with local businesses and industries to develop training programs that local employers need.

The college is positioning itself to grow in the future.

"The potential for growth is huge," Cech said.

Portland (Ore.) Community College has programs reaching 105,000 people in an urban area of about 1 million people.

MSU-B and Rocky Mountain College have a total of fewer than 5,000 students in an area that has about 160,000 people.

If the College of Technology and Billings had that same 1-to-10 student-to-population ratio as Portland does, it would grow to 16,000 students, Cech said.

Enrollment at the College of Technology has grown 23 percent in the last year to 620 students.

Once students graduate, 94 percent of them find jobs in their fields, Cech said. Graduates going to work in oil refineries can start making $30,000. Auto technicians start out in the $18,000-to-$24,000 range.

Interest in some programs, such as diesel technology and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology, has doubled in recent years because of shortages of workers in those fields. Because fewer young people are going into auto mechanics, there is a shortage of workers in that occupation, too.

Medical and computer programs also have been popular.

The college’s surgical technician program, a two-year degree that will start this fall, already is filled and has a waiting list of 28 people.

Students interesting in enrolling in those programs shouldn’t be scared off, Cech said. The college hopes to add sections to popular programs.

The College of Technology will rely on federal grants and partnerships with businesses to pay for expansion of facilities and programs.

"We won’t grow this college with state funds," Cech said.

Here are a few of the changes going on at the MSU-Billings College of Technology:

– Remodeling. In May, the north side of the building will be remodeled to add two computer classrooms and a large, high-tech conference room. The $1-million, federally funded project is expected to be completed in January.

A new lobby and student lounge also will be built. The new rooms will be added as a second floor to the current 40-foot ceiling heating, ventilation and air-conditioning shop. HVAC classes will continue on the ground floor.

– New programs. The college has rolled out new programs with more to come. Last fall, a two-year, medical-assistant degree was added and a two-year human-resources degree started in January.

This fall, the college will start a desktop network support degree. According to the Montana Department of Labor and Statistics, 971 more jobs will be created in that field over the next five years.

A surgical technician degree also will start this fall.

Other two-year programs the college may add in the future include degrees in supervisory management, computer programming and radiology technology.

– More online classes. Classes for the accounting-technology and administrative-assistant degrees now are offered online. The college is working on getting the human-resources program online.

– Children’s camps. The college will offer children’s camps this summer in automotive technology, medical technology, the Internet, fire science and soccer.

– Learning communities. Employers want students trained in basic workplace skills such as punctuality, time management and productivity.

Those qualities are hard to teach in a classroom, said Bruce Whittenberg, a consultant to the College of Technology who has organized a pilot "learning community" at the college. The pilot project brings several automotive students together once a week with representatives of auto-repair and -sales businesses in Billings.

During the informal gatherings, business representatives discuss what the students will need know to succeed on the job. The sessions also give employers a look at students they might hire in the future.

Whittenberg hopes to add learning communities for other programs in the future.

– Administration reorganization. College Dean John Cech reorganized the college into what he calls five "centers of excellence."

Each center is tied to addressing seven clusters of the Billings economy identified by the Greater Yellowstone Business and Education Council.

– Expanding advisory committee. Cech expanded the College of Technology’s national advisory committee from six to 24 members.

Mary Pickett may be reached at 657-1262 or at [email protected].

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Facts about 2-year education

Here are some national statistics about two-year higher-education programs compiled by Joyce Scott, deputy commissioner of higher education for academic and student affairs in Helena:

– Between 1998 and 2008, jobs requiring an associate degree will increase by 31.2 percent, the largest percentage increase among all educational levels (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000).

– For the decade 1998 to 2008, nine of the top 10 fastest-growing occupations will be found in either the computer or allied health fields. Similarly, the computer technologies and allied health industries will have the largest growth through 2008 (BLS, 2000).

– Most community college students preparing for future work are training for careers in health sciences and technologies (30 percent), business-related fields (17 percent) or computer and information technology (15 percent) (Faces of the Future, 2000).

– 45 percent of single mothers who enrolled because of a major life change indicated that the cost of child care or dependent care was a major or moderate problem while taking courses (Faces of the Future, 2000).

– 72 percent of students who enrolled to upgrade skills and advance their careers indicated that community college had made a major contribution to their learning skills required for their job (Faces of the Future, 2000).

– Average annual earnings for graduates with two-year vocational degree $36,833; two-year college degree $38,118; and bachelor’s degree, $49,344 (Employment Policy Foundation).

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