Shifting the Stats

Most people can identify career fields that for one reason or another are dominated by a particular gender. Nurses, elementary school teachers, those who work in machining and other STEM-related fields would all be examples.

Thanks to the support of a Perkins Grant, Hutchinson Community College is working to change that, specifically in technical fields. Nontraditional fields are defined as “occupations or fields of work for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work.”

During the summer of 2020, HutchCC has been promoting specific technical programs – Ag Diesel, Automation Engineering Technology, Machine Technology, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, and Welding – with the goal of increasing enrollment by females in these high-demand, high pay fields.

Emerald Brown, from Abilene, KS looked into the HutchCC Automation Engineer Technology (AET) Program at the encouragement of a friend.

“While it was at the opposite end of the spectrum from what I had initially wanted to do; it was hands on and I really had no clue what I wanted in life. I branched out in my freshman year and took solar energy classes. After that I started looking to see how many qualifications I could receive in my two years at Hutch.” Brown graduated in May 2020 with AAS degrees in AET & Manufacturing Engineering Technology, and Certificates in Industrial Mechanical Maintenance and Industrial Electrical Technology.

Student Emerald Brown works in the MET lab on campus.

“My advice to future blue dragons would be if you’re on the fence about a tech program just do it! Seriously, the worst thing that happens is you don’t like it. Best thing that happens is you do and you didn’t waste a semester or two just taking gen eds. Technical programs are nice because you stay with the same group of people for two years. They’re in all your classes with you, you basically become like a family. There are also internships available, so you can even earn some money going to school while gaining more experience. Most importantly though the instructions are like no others I’ve ever had. They really care about your success and want to see you push yourself.”

Kaitlyn Tiani, of McPherson, chose to pursue a technical trade at HutchCC because she was looking for a career that was high-demand and could weather a recession. She loves the hands-on aspect and gaining new skills. “This field keeps me on my toes and it is something different all the time.”