Nic Technical Programs On A Roll Enrollment Growing, And College Again Leads State In Placing Technical Professional Graduates In Jobs

Charlotte Pegoraro completed her associate’s degree at North Idaho College in June 1999.

Within two months, she was working as a Web-page designer for USA Sites, a Coeur d’Alene company, earning $10 an hour.

“I liked the college. I liked the program. I found the job pretty easily,” Pegoraro said.

Pegoraro is a textbook example of the success NIC has had placing graduates of its technical professional programs in jobs. Between 10 and 15 percent of NIC’s students are enrolled in the college’s 21 technical professional programs.

Last year, 166 of NIC’s 190 graduates in those programs were hired within their field. That’s a rate of 87 percent - the highest in the state, according to a report released this week.

“Our enrollment is increasing. Our graduation rate is increasing. And our placement in training-related (fields) is increasing,” said Ray Keevy, applied technology placement specialist. “It’s exciting.”

This is the college’s third year of being first in the state in placing technical professional students in jobs related to their training. Their average wage is $10.23 per hour, which has increased 10.5 percent in the last three years. Enrollment in the college’s 21 technical professional programs has increased 27 percent in the last four years.

The number of graduates has increased 51 percent in the last four years.

That includes Paul Schmidt, who finished a 10-month NIC program in collision repair in June 1999 and landed a job three days before he graduated.

He works at Coeur d’Alene Auto Painting, a Hayden company, painting cars and doing body work. He earns $8 an hour.

“That was what I was counting on,” Schmidt said. “This is a good job. The longer I go, the better I’m going to be.”

Keevy said one reason the placement program is successful is because it has created links to businesses through internships. Many students work as interns with companies before they graduate, then are hired full time when they finish their degrees.

That applies to Phil Alverson, who started working at Outback Steakhouse in December 1998, before he finished his certificate of completion in NIC’s culinary arts program.

“I heard about it (the job) through the college that fall,” said Alverson, a saute cook at the Australian-themed restaurant.

Alverson said his NIC education prepared him well for his job, teaching him relevant specifics about food temperatures and sanitation.

“I learned a lot there,” he said. “It’s been really useful.”

That’s an important point to make, Keevy said. Though many companies are starved for highly trained workers, they won’t hire people who can’t do the job.

“We have some excellent programs that are putting people out there that the companies want,” he said. “If we weren’t doing a good job of training them, no one would be hiring them.”

Also, Keevy said, the college has been successful at training people for jobs in this community. Some 72 percent of last year’s technical professional graduates landed jobs in North Idaho, with another 18 percent going to Spokane.

“Anyone can say they graduate people,” Keevy said,. “But what we can say is, they’re working.”