Top (left to right): Mary Farley, Moultrie Technical Institute; Ivan Moore, Lanier Technical Institute; Henry C. Byrd, Columbus Technical Institute Bottom (left to right): Lloyd Rollerson, Chattahoochee Technical Institute; Sophie Brown, Heart of Georgia Technical Institute

 

With a Bachelor's degree, an MBA and 24 years as a telecommunications manager in the U.S. Air Force under his belt, Henry C. Byrd may not seem like your typical technical institute student. But he is far more typical than you might think. Why did he choose technical education after college, an MBA, a military career and several years in the private sector? For a "more hands-on" position, says Byrd. No more being "four levels removed from the people doing the job." Studying computer programming at Columbus Technical Institute allowed him to sharpen his skills to do just that. Byrd is not alone. Enrollment in Georgia's technical institutes has increased 32 percent since 1992 and is projected to continue to rise. In academic year 1997, more than 234,000 students enrolled in credit and noncredit courses to upgrade a skill or learn a new one. Though Byrd is, no doubt, exceptional, it is not because of age or previous educational experience. Students enrolled in Georgia's technical institutes tend to be older -- about 17 percent are in the 16 to 20 age group, while almost 40 percent are over 30, including 16 percent who are 40 or older. Quite a few have attended college, and many are embarking on a second, or even a third, career. Lloyd Rollerson, 40, is a case in point. A student in his last quarters of Biomedical Engineering Technology at Chattahoochee Technical Institute, Rollerson has been down the career path twice before. First, as a chemical technician with an oil company, and then, as an audiological health specialist. His search for a career with staying power -- one on "the cutting edge that'll stay in high demand" -- led him to Chattahoochee Technical Institute's two-year program.

 

"It's the best in the state-really high-tech, hands-on," says Rollerson. "Right now, I've got an internship at Scottish Rite Hospital in the Clinical Engineering Department. We do preventive maintenance, and pull down and repair neonatal monitors, infusion pumps, heat lamps, even incubators. I do it all, under a supervisor." Each technical institute offers a unique set of programs geared toward employment opportunities within its community. Hundreds of programs are available -- accounting, dental assisting, fashion merchandising, law enforcement, mechanical engineering technology and welding, to name a few. A student may earn a diploma or Associate degree in one of these programs or choose to enroll in a shorter training program -- a Technical Certificate of Credit -- for specific job training. Lottery-funded HOPE Grants, for which technical students pursuing diploma or technical certificate programs qualify regardless of grade point average or high school diploma, and welfare reform have made it easier for women, especially single mothers, to get the training they need for higher paying careers. For the 1997 academic year, women composed 60 percent of the enrollment. Traditional courses of study for women, such as Cosmetology, Child Development, Medical Assisting, Practical Nursing, Office Administration and Respiratory Therapy, are all popular choices, with health-care training programs having the highest enrollment. But more and more women are choosing nontraditional fields.

 

Sophie Brown, a 29-year-old single mother of three, is in Heart of Georgia Technical Institute-Eastman campus' first Aviation Maintenance Technology graduating class. And it seems like a natural fit. Her smaller stature makes it easier for her, than for her male counterparts, to move around in the tight areas of the planes they service and repair. After she graduates, Brown expects to be hired either at Gulfstream in Savannah or Delta in Atlanta. Once a nursing student at Middle Georgia College, she is especially enthusiastic. "I appreciate technical education. You do work in the field every day. College was great -- great background. Great building blocks. It's the hands-on learning, though, that keeps me motivated," says Brown, who plans to further her aviation career with a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace and, eventually, a job with the FAA. Women are not the only ones enrolling in nontraditional fields. Newlywed Ivan Moore, 21, intends to use his degree in Practical Nursing from Lanier Technical Institute as a stepping stone to medical school. Nursing will allow him to work in his field and go to school at the same time. "I've heard the horror stories of delivering pizza all the way through med school," says Moore. "This way I'll get into the field and work some." The training is strictly hands-on, with real-life patients assigned to students and work meticulously checked by a supervisor. Says Moore of his technical education experience, "You gain knowledge from books, wisdom from applying knowledge -- that's perfecting skills you're going to use." Mary Farley, 44, a recent graduate of Moultrie Area Technical Institute's Marketing Management program, chose technical education after a home accident forced a lifestyle change. Farley knew she wanted to start her own business, so after completing her high school equivalency, she enrolled at Moultrie Tech, where advisors suggested marketing. "It gave me experience and knowledge to control an entrepreneurship," she says. "Skills and knowledge about legal technicalities, dealing in taxes, what to look for when I can hire people." Technical institutes can answer an immediate need, provide a higher quality education, enhance current skills in a relatively short time frame, teach a new skill needed for advancement provide necessary training for a career change or be a bridge to higher education. And that's the beauty of technical schools, according to Farley. "Technical schools give us the opportunity to go back . . . go right back and pick up what we need, for anyone willing to accept the challenge." Brown agrees. "There's something technical education has to offer everybody." And as Byrd says, "What I would tell... what I do tell everyone about a technical school education, is that even with my previous experience and education, I would not have qualified for what I'm doing now without Columbus Tech." DTAE and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce sponsor the GOAL (Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership) Award to recognize outstanding students in technical education. The 1997 statewide finalist, Henry C. Byrd, and other 1997 GOAL Winners, such as those presented in this story, are representative of today's outstanding technical institute students.

Table of Contents

Next Page