Recession works for technical colleges

Dana Hudson Mitchell made a living for 12 years selling real estate. But during 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 in Lawrenceville 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. The system’s spring quarter enrollment increased by about 15 percent from spring 2008 and gave the technical colleges their second-highest enrollment: 90,420 students.

Nearly all 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, said Ron Jackson, commissioner of the state’s technical college system. Historically, enrollment has increased during recessions.

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 waiting 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 prepared surgical instruments. Students learn how to be operating room technicians. Many realized they have at least two decades of working years ahead and want to spend it in well-paying jobs.

Technical college tuition typically costs less than $2,000 a year, and much of it can be paid through grants from the state and federal government.

— This article is a reprint from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.