By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
NCK Tech sets its sights on expansion with plans to improve both its Hays campus and programs to align with the evolving needs of students.
The two-year technical college offers hands-on learning in construction, health, business and technology.
"The two things that we are going to expand through the building are the CDL department and our construction department," NCK Tech President Eric Burks said.
The Commercial Driver License program at NCK Tech equips students for various license classes and ensures approval for transporting tanks, hazardous materials, longer combination vehicles and passenger vehicles, including school buses.
The construction program offers carpentry, heavy equipment operation, plumbing, heating and air conditioning education to students.
Burks said the construction program has reached its maximum capacity, with 50 students in electrical, 20 students in carpentry, and 20 students in plumbing, heating, and air conditioning on an annual basis.
"We've had to turn students away, so we're looking for ways to be able to gain additional capacity and be able to capture more of those students," he said.
NCK Tech faces a shortage of meeting spaces for both students and faculty, sometimes requiring events to be held outdoors in tents and converting closet spaces into offices.
Students found themselves on a waiting list for admission to NCK Tech programs in Hays, with the possibility of moving up if other students opted not to attend.
The aim is to have a plan completed by March 2024 and finalized by September 2024 to have the building fully operational by the fall of 2025, featuring improved programs and new study rooms for students on campus.
CDL training takes place at the Sternberg Museum, where students can anticipate the introduction of both a new truck and an instructor.
Burks expects the rise in student enrollment will not only benefit the overall growth of the school but the local community as well.
"We see this as an ability to capture more students, and that's important because that turns out more employees for the workforce and helps support the local economy," he said.
The expansion of NCK Tech follows a $1.8 million grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce, along with substantial fundraising efforts such as reaching out to businesses that would benefit from the expansion.
Burks encourages anyone interested in supporting fundraising efforts to contact NCK Tech Hays Campus at 785-625-2437.
"I want to thank all those who have already been supportive of this project, and we look forward to working with people to try and address the workforce needs not just in the construction area, but any of them," Burks said.
The nursing program is the largest NCK Tech offers alongside pharmacy tech and culinary arts in health.
NCK Tech's partnership with Fort Hays State University allows students to access the same benefits as FHSU students. The NCK Tech campus in Beloit provides similar hands-on learning opportunities.
The expansion is exclusively for the NCK Tech campus in Hays with no current plans for extending the college campus or its programs in Beloit.
For more information on NCK Tech, and its programs in Hays and Beloit, click here.