WyoTech is adding and filling two new programs, pulling students to Laramie, WY, for intense, high-tech training.
In March, a new six-month certification program in applied welding will graduate a second cohort of students, joining the school’s core three nine-month accredited teachings in automotive, diesel or collision/refinishing. A second six-month certification program for farm and construction equipment is planned, a spokesperson said.
“We’re going into the yellow iron,” said Cindy Barlow, director of industry relations.
WyoTech also teaches three-month curriculums in advanced diesel, chassis fabrication, street rod and custom fab, high-performance powertrains, trim and upholstery, and applied service management. Learners pursue a focus to hone core training.
New Country for Young Men and Women
Two characters arguing in “No Country for Old Men” about what welding one of them knows cover the tech of the time. Angry at the other’s prodding, the first growls: “What did I say? If it can be welded, I can weld it.”
WyoTech’s applied welding work covers everything but lasers, Barlow said, and this might yet come. The new course is full, and future-booked into fall 2026.
All programs’ classes run 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus 20 minutes for clean-up; welding added a second to run 4:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. and increase capacity.
Farm and construction will go heavy: “dozers, excavators, skid-steers, road graders, tractors,” Barlow said.
The new six-month programs are certifications, not the longer, nine-month each accreditation of automotive, diesel or collision, she said. These latter require 1,440 hours of teaching, among other elements.
Students in accredited programs attend WyoTech full-time, living on or near campus.
$28M+ and 100X Bigger in Six Years
Barlow said students must shave, present professionally, in clean uniforms -- and be on time.
“Late twice, you go home, and we encourage you to come back when you’re ready,” she said.
“If you’re not busy, you get into trouble,” Vice President of Marketing Ashley Chitwood told Cowboy State Daily last year.
Instructors take attendance eight times a day.
Students in a chassis fabrication class.
Average enrollees travel 1,000 miles to arrive.
There are north of 1,100 students now, paying about $30,000 a year in tuition and $4,500 for housing. More courses -- popular with veterans, Barlow said -- boost students’ commitment of time, talents and treasure.
That’s 100 times more learners than when former WyoTech student and administrator Jim Mathis corralled investors to buy it in 2018.
Cowboy State Daily said Mathis’ group raised $12 million, including a $5 million loan from the state, to get the campus and company from publicly traded Corinthian Colleges Inc., a for-profit votech provider then imploding.
“We had 12 students at the time, and one of them quit,” Barlow said.
You’ve Come a Long Way, Cowboy
This was down from 2,200 some 15 years earlier, Mathis said last year.
Corinthian once had a half-dozen WyoTech sites from California to Florida to Massachusetts.
The new indie, still for-profit operator now pulls from all states to its solo Wyoming base by recruiters. Sixty future techs from Oahu are studying there, and its first student from Canada recently graduated, Barlow said. Programs enroll and graduate quarterly.
“Students have a passion for the trades,” and flow from ASE-certified high school programs. Recruiters meet with families; their kids come to Laramie.
Enrollment exploded during COVID. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon designated the school an essential service.
In 2018, WyoTech was in 12,000 square feet. Last year, a $16 million, 90,000-square-foot addition bowed.
The school, turning 60 next year, has 642 beds in four dorms, and leases nearby apartments for more housing.
Students get financial aid, and companies often reimburse students they hire.
Teaching ‘Hall of Fame’ Technicians
Graduates from accredited areas have seen three career fairs and hundreds of hirers. Students get soft-skilled in interviewing and professional practices. Ideal jobs pair new hires with mentors.
“Intensive training here, and learning to fit specific roles at first jobs,” Barlow said.
Companies coming to campus include Caliber Collision, Crash Champions, Penske and dealership groups.
Mining concern Kiewit Corp. found a slew of new employees from the February job confab.
Students get plaudits at industry events such as SEMA. WyoTech named several former students to its Hall of Fame last year, coupled with a car show. In May, more honorees will join that group.
This Henry J, restored by Revision Rods & Rides in South Dakota, was shown at the 2024 SEMA Show.
WyoTech grad Tyler Nelson owns Revision Rods & Rides in South Dakota.
Nelson’s growing up included steady fascination with cars. He graduated from high school in 2005, then WyoTech in 2006.
“Was either that or the Marines,” he said.
He studied collision work, refinishing and street rods, along with applied service management, which draws learners exploring supervisory roles.
“Born and raised in Rapid” -- Rapid City, SD, to non-locals -- he worked in a shop for two years, started and ran another for 10, and launched Revision about the time Mathis was rescuing WyoTech. At least year’s SEMA he got the Goodguys Rod & Custom Trendsetter of the Year award.
Industry Taking Note
Nelson talks more at shows, Revision’s cars are getting recognition, and “I want to help the younger generation,” he said.
His shop has 12,000 square feet and nine employees, and builds custom rides from the ‘30s to the ‘60s.
It’s booked four years out and not taking new jobs.
Echoing Barlow on integrating intensive training and professional mentoring, Nelson said, “WyoTech is where I learned everything, and I’ve learned a ton since.”
The wider economy is coming around to this kind of work, and its rigorous training.
The Wall Street Journal in early March cited a tech training revival as a hedge against artificial intelligence. Massachusetts has seen a 30% jump over 10 years in high school votech, and more programs for those ages nationally teach robotics and lasers -- skills with wide reach.
Barlow doesn’t have a direct automotive background, having worked in business and government among different stakeholders.
“That serves my position well,” she said.
Paul Hughes