Local college sees increased interest in career and technical education

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — More students are going the trade school routes as opposed to a traditional college. That’s according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

At the College of Southern Idaho officials have noticed more students taking an interest in their career and technical education program. Dean of Career and Technical Education Barry Pate said there’s been growth in a variety of fields.

“Welding, radiological technology, dental hygiene, automation, those sorts of things are really growing,” Pate said.

There’s also growth in their diesel, HVAC, and other programs.

The past three years have seen a major uptick in registration for trade school programs. HVAC and Refrigeration Professor Mike Lepray said in that time, his program has consistently filled up before the start of each semester.

“So right now I have a wait list of 17 from last year trying to get in, on top of already eight that have registered for the program,” Lepray said.

Money is a primary motivation for students going into these careers another factor is the ability to enter the job market much faster.

“A lot of students are interested in this because they see a really direct path between their education and their career, and like I said, so some of our certificates are only a year long that can lead to good employment, some of them are two years,” Pate said.

Combine that with a massive demand from local industries, and it’s a match made in heaven for recruiters in the Magic Valley.

“What we’re finding is that the technician field started to age out. So what that means is there’s kind of a gap between what the field was and people starting to retire,” Christy Featherston, the owner of Home Heating and Air Conditioning said.

Featherston said on top of that, the recent population growth in the Magic Valley means businesses like hers need skilled workers more than ever.

“As our community continues to grow and we build more houses and there’s just more things out there, more people in our area, yes the demand for HVAC is increasing and on the rise,” Featherston said.

Even industries like dentistry are needing more dental hygienists and assistants to keep up with the demand.

“There wasn’t a net change in dentists for quite some time, but our population has grown immensely in the Magic Valley and so the number of dentists is way up and the demand for dental care is high,” Jim Hughes, dentist and owner of Hughes Dental said.

Many local businesses actually work with the college on their programs, with a majority of students ending up working for them. Hughes said he works with the college for their dental programs. Featherston added it’s good to have a college close that allows them to grow their own workforce locally.

With the ever-increasing demand and popularity, Pate said CSI officials have discussed expanding certain programs to reach more people in more areas.

“We’re trying to reach students where they are, or whatever age they are, whatever situation they are in and like I said, we want to be on sight in Burley, we want to be on sight in Jerome, spreading around the opportunities,” Pate said.

In fact CSI has already broken ground on a new facility in Jerome. Pate added they are always looking for more community partners and staff to help bolster their programs.

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