For the fifth year in a row, Mitchell Technical College reported that 99% of alumni achieved successful outcomes within six months of graduation, according to a recent survey.
The survey compiled responses from graduates from December 2021 to August 2022 asking what job situation they were in after graduation.
Of the class’s 466 graduates, 415 reported they are employed full time. Ninety-five percent of those students said they are employed in a training-related job. Forty-five graduates said they are continuing their education, were serving in the military or were not seeking full-time employment. Only six students did not respond to the survey.
Additionally, 82% of graduates remained in South Dakota.
Janet Greenway, director of Career Services at Mitchell Tech, said the survey results will be presented to the South Dakota Board of Technical Education as well as other entities in the state.
"We use it for state funding," she said. "The report is turned into the Department of Education, and the legislators review the data from all four technical schools."
The survey results are also used in advertising and recruiting potential students to show how much money graduates can make and where they are employed.
Greenway also said the survey gives other potential employers an idea of what jobs are attracting Mitchell Tech students so they can stay competitive with other employers, especially with labor shortages across the country.
“Employers are having a difficulty securing employees," she said. "There’s just way more jobs than there are graduates, and because of that then, the employers are needing to have to maybe pay a little bit more to get the interest of our students, soon-to-be graduates."
Starting wages for graduates in the survey averaged $24.86 per hour, three dollars more than the 2021 average. Six graduates reported making at least $38 an hour.
