Recession boosts enrollment at Georgia’s technical colleges

Dana Hudson Mitchell made a living for 12 years selling real estate. But over the past couple of years she watched her salary dwindle as the economy weakened and the housing market tumbled.

The 38-year-old single mother of two realized she needed a change. She enrolled in the surgical technology program at Gwinnett Technical College and expects to earn between $35,000 and $50,000 a year when she finishes in March.

“I had to make a choice for my family,” Mitchell said. “I need a new career, a stable career, and I need to get the skills quickly.”

She is one of an increasing number of adults who have turned to the Technical College System of Georgia for training in different careers as a way to survive and maybe even thrive in this recession. As a result, the system’s spring quarter enrollment increased by about 15 percent from spring 2008 and gave the technical colleges their second-highest enrollment of 90,420 students.

Nearly all of the state’s 33 campuses grew as laid-off and underemployed workers sought new skills by enrolling in high-demand fields such as nursing, biosciences and welding, Commissioner Ron Jackson said. Historically, enrollment has increased during recessions, and Jackson predicted the gains to continue into the fall.

Growth at technical colleges in metro Atlanta ranged from 5 percent at Chattahoochee Technical in Marietta to about 25 percent at Atlanta Technical and North Metro Technical in Acworth. Many programs have wait lists, especially in health fields.

Gwinnett Technical’s enrollment increased by about 15 percent, with the greatest growth in health care, criminal justice and early childhood education. The new students are focused on switching careers, president Sharon Bartels said.

“They come in and say that they and their spouse lost their jobs and they want to know what’s the best program they can complete quickly and make a good living,” Bartels said.

During a recent class, Mitchell scrubbed her hands and prepared surgical instruments. Students in the program learn how to be operating room technicians. Dressed in green scrubs with a student identification badge clipped to her top, Mitchell said attending college for the first time is terrifying and exciting.

She and other career-switching students said they needed to overcome their fears. Many realized they have at least two decades of working years ahead and want to spend it in well-paying jobs.

Angelia Johnson, 43, worked in real estate but is now a student at Gwinnett Tech. She considered teaching but didn’t want to spend two years in a master’s program and graduate thousands of dollars in debt.

Technical college tuition typically costs less than $2,000 a year.

Johnson started in the college’s regulatory assurance program in September and will graduate in June. Graduates can work as quality management specialists for the government, laboratories or manufacturing facilities.

“I’ve had some people question why I’m going to school instead of getting some little hourly jobs,” Johnson said. “But I’m not focusing on the now, I’m focusing on my future. This downturn is the perfect time to invest in myself.”