Mitchell Technical Institute.

Mitchell Technical Institute. MITCHELL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE (MTI), PART OF THE MITCHELL SCHOOLDISTRICT IN MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA, opened in 1968, and since that timehas graduated more than 13,000 students. The school offers 17 associatedegree programs and six one-year technical diploma programs, isaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North CentralAssociation of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the Central AreaTech Prep Consortium. Also of note is that, as part of its ConstructionTechnologies Program, MTI offers the only one-year propane and naturalgas training program in the United States. The MTI Propane and Natural Gas Technologies Program enjoys anexcellent reputation in the utilities industry; its features include anew outdoor utility training field for laboratory activities inunderground installation and bulk plant work located in a simulated cityenvironment. In August 2009, a new $3 million state-of-the-art EnergyTraining Center opened, allowing students to work on projects indoorsyear round. The school is also a Certified Employee Training Program (CETP)training site. CETP is a comprehensive, nationwide training program foremployees in the propane industry, which was originally launched by theNational Propane Gas Association (NPGA) and is now a partnership betweenNPGA and the Propane Education and Research Council. According to MTI instructor and Energy Division Head Dan Hoeffner,"The industry offers a nice mix of 'brain and brawn'opportunity. Employees entering the gas supervisory positions will findmany advancement opportunities as those in management and supervisorypositions continue to retire and leave the workforce. MTI trains to fillthe needs of contractors, utilities and propane marketers. The trainingopens many employment options to students." In the first semester of the MTI Propane and Natural GasTechnologies Program, the courses include electrical circuits andtesting, gas operations and maintenance, gas mapping and mathematics,microcomputer software applications, and industrial relations. There isalso a gas operations and maintenance lab. In addition, a commercialdriver's license (CDL) is a requirement of the program, so semesterone includes the industrial transportation/CDL course. In the secondsemester, students take courses that include gas appliance service andcontrols, measurement and control, first aid/CPR, technical writing, andtechnical math. A gas installation lab is also part of the secondsemester. In the program, students learn troubleshooting procedures andsafety and regulations for appliances such as gas furnaces, waterheaters and dryers--in both residential and commercial settings. Theyalso study the properties of propane, natural gas and butane, as well asthe standards related to handling, transmission and storage of gases. Intheir lab work, the students learn about meters, regulators, plasticpipe fusion, carbon monoxide and gas leak investigations, and the repairand installation of gas piping. According to MTI, there is an immediate need for employees innatural gas and propane distribution and service operations, and itsdata from recent years demonstrate that the placement rate for graduatesof the MTI Propane and Natural Gas Technologies Program is at or near100 percent. Since the program began in the early 1990s. graduates havegone on to work for companies that include Amerigas, Suburban Propane,Farmers Alliance/Land-o-Lakes. as well as investor-owned utilities,utility cooperatives, and many others. Some graduates of the programalso continued their education. MTI students who wish to obtain anassociate degree in utilities technology may do so by completing thepropane and natural gas curriculum, the power line construction andmaintenance curriculum, and an additional six credits of generaleducation. "With the utility industry working toward renewable energysources, we find a need for transition," says Hoeffner. "Frommotor fuel to residential and industrial needs, natural gas and propaneare proven to be the viable option. With propane's portability andnatural gas not requiring significant refining, both fit well into theenergy plan of our nation. The need for plentiful clean-burning fuelscombined with an aging workforce results in tremendous need for trained,field-ready, entry-level employees." For more information about the Mitchell Technical Institute Propaneand Natural Gas Technologies Program, visit www.mitchelltech.cont.