THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) -
Much of the presidential campaign has focused on jobs, but while many university grads are having trouble landing positions in their field of study, graduates from many Georgia technical colleges are not.
Bucking that trend, Southwest Georgia Technical College recently boasted a 100% graduate total placement rate for fiscal year 2011.
Automotive Technology, Medical Assisting, Respiratory Care. These are just three of the many fields of study where thousands of jobs are waiting to be filled.
"All the majors that we have, there are jobs in the community or the surrounding communities, that's why we have them. So skilled labor as well as those allied health areas are always in need," said SWGTC Career Placement Coordinator Jeanine Long.
"I wasn't terribly surprised because we have a record of good placement. Hinging on the fact that we prepare students for the area workplace," said Long.
Instructor Stephanie Pierce earned her Surgical Technology degree from the school and is now paying it forward.
"It's enabled me to have hands on experience and they have taught us to apply that experience in our careers and pass it on to new employees as well as students that come through."
"They have worked in the workplace so they know what the graduates need to know when they graduate. And the fact they have such good connections in the community and so our students are then going through internships or clinicals," said Long.
And many of the students don't need to wait until they graduate before they can lock up a job.
"While the students are doing their clinical rotations we like to tell them these two semesters that you're in clinicals, these are a two semester interview. Some of the students they want to hire right away," said Pierce.
The college also attained a 97% in-field job placement rate, which is the second highest of all the technical colleges in the state.
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