By Angelo Gentile Aug 9, 2026

Business North

Affordability, faster-to-job options draw students to tech colleges

As another school year dawns this fall, the road ahead seems especially grim for high schoolers, the younger end of Gen Z, planning to enter the job market or continue on to college. 

College costs are soaring, stories of college graduates living with crushing debt have been well documented, and some students, their parents and even some politicians are questioning the return on investment of college, given that the unemployment rate now, at least for recent college grads, isn’t all that different from high school grads. Nationally, for young workers (ages 22 to 27), the unemployment rate for college graduates is around 5.6%, while the rate for young workers without a college degree hovers near 7.8%, according to Federal Reserve data.

“There’s increasing awareness about the cost of college, an increasing focus for families and students about the return on investment, the ROI,” said Layla Merrifield, president of the Wisconsin Technical College System, in a recent interview with BusinessNorth. “If you’re going to pay to go to college, you want to know there’s a job waiting at the end and whether the tuition prices that you are paying make sense for what you are going to earn on the other side.”

Given this current landscape, trade schools and technical colleges have seen a surge in enrollment. The number of students at public, two-year schools that focus on vocational and trade programs grew by nearly 20 percent from 2020 to 2025, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. 

Reasons for the rise

To be clear, a majority of high school graduates nationally still go directly to college, about 60%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But for a variety of reasons, some students and their parents are re-thinking that decision:

Affordability. Tech colleges are generally less expensive than four-year schools, and students come out of those tech programs often with less or no debt.

In Minnesota, for example, tuition and fees average about $6,189 per year at Minnesota State colleges and $10,034 per year at Minnesota State universities. University of Minnesota Duluth’s total is $12,766, and U of M Twin Cities total is $18,094, according to Minnesota State data. Private college tuition is significantly higher.

Several tech college officials mentioned available scholarship opportunities. One prime program is the North Star Promise Scholarship, which can cover the balance of tuition and mandatory fees at Minnesota public colleges and universities, according to Jason Bruns, director of the Minnesota State Engineering and Applied Manufacturing Center of Excellence. “Eligible Minnesota students with a family adjusted gross income under $80,000 can receive tuition support.” He added that about 10,000 students benefitted in 2025. 

Timing and Flexibility. Students complete most tech school educational requirements in two years or less and get a speedier entry to the work world. Many programs also offer greater scheduling flexibility and in-person and online options.

“Students are attracted to the idea that they could spend two years or even in some cases 10 months” completing a program, said Jessalyn Sabin, president of Minnesota North College, in a recent interview. Minnesota North spans six campuses on the Iron Range. “Then, after graduation, they can be employable right away … making a great wage at 19 or 20.”

Connecting to business/industry. Tech colleges in many cases develop programs in collaboration with industry in areas such as healthcare and information technology along with welding, automotive tech, plumbing and other trades.

“We develop our academic programming directly based on employer needs … matching local workforce training with local workforce needs,” Aliesha Crowe, vice president of Academic Affairs for Northwood Technical College in Wisconsin, told BusinessNorth. Crowe added that those industry needs can quickly change. “We are in an age where technology changes rapidly,” and so companies “and students want education for the now, what do they need to know to do their job now, plus build on what they know.”

A looming gray wave of retiring tradespeople also is on the horizon, coupled with a number of workers who are leaving occupations and changing careers, said Minnesota State’s Bruns. So, colleges are not just training students for new jobs. “The workforce challenge is not just job growth. It is also replacement demand.”

Short-term projections for Q2 2025 to Q2 2027 by Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) estimate about 748,976 total job openings in Minnesota.

Enrollment stats

National and regional numbers illustrate the rise of tech schools.

Nationally, as mentioned, enrollment at these trade-focused institutions has surged almost 20% in the last five years. 

In Minnesota, statistics are a bit harder to identify for tech colleges because they are lumped in with community colleges and state universities in one system, Minnesota State, which includes 26 community and technical colleges and seven state universities that serve about 270,000 students each year. The system reported its third straight year of enrollment growth in the fall of 2025. Credit headcount increased 5.2% at the system’s colleges, 2.3% at its universities, and 4.2% systemwide.

At Lake Superior College, total headcount is rebounding from the COVID pandemic years, said David Kline, vice president of advancement and external relations. Statistics from the college report that its 2026 head count of 5,740 is 7% higher than the 2023 headcount of 5,361, with an almost identical 7% increase in full-year-equivalent (30 credits) students. (2,353 in 2023 and 2,513 in 2026).

Wisconsin’s Technical College System also has been recovering from pandemic declines. Officials report that during COVID, head count enrollment dropped 19%, but enrollment has bounced back since, up 18.3% as of the end of fiscal year 2025. Nearly 300,000 students enroll annually at the 16 colleges in the Wisconsin system.

At Northwood Technical College, which has campuses in Superior, Ashland, Rice Lake and New Richmond, college officials report head count and full-time equivalent (FTE) student totals have improved since pandemic-related declines. For the most recent academic year, the preliminary final headcount of 14,100 was 2.19% higher than the post-pandemic low, while FTE were up 6.65% as compared to the post-pandemic low. In addition, new program student enrollments for this fall are currently trending positively.

Popular programs

In Wisconsin, the state’s largest industry is now healthcare, said Merrifield, the tech college system president, adding that “once upon a time it was manufacturing.” As a result, healthcare programs are also the system’s largest area of enrollment, she said, including nursing and allied health programs such as radiology technician, respiratory therapy assistant, surgical technician, dental assistant and others.

Additionally, “anything to do with advanced manufacturing” is popular and in demand by industry, Merrifield said, including study programs for CNC machining technicians and programmers and mechatronics programs, which involves learning to install, troubleshoot and repair complex machinery, robotics and other automated equipment in manufacturing settings.

Similar programs are popular in Minnesota, too, including Lake Superior College’s machine technology, engineering technology and integrated manufacturing programs. “Technology, including AI, is changing lots of industries, some faster than others,” Linda Kingston, LSC president, told BusinessNorth. “We are seeing in the manufacturing sector a strong need for people to operate the mechanicals and repair the automated technology.”

These jobs, considered to be “high-growth occupations” by industry, pay well, too, Bruns said. He cited recent estimates from DEED projecting that CNC tool programmer jobs will grow 21% with median wages around $72,486, and industrial machinery mechanics to grow 21%, with median wages around $67,738.

In addition, LSC also offers several unique education options, including aviation-related programs: aviation maintenance technology, aviation management and a professional pilot associate of science degree program. In fact, LSC has two full sections of aviation maintenance students starting this fall, “so our aviation programs are soaring, if you will,” Kingston said.

Tech colleges in Minnesota and Wisconsin also offer a range of public safety courses of study that train law enforcement officers, paramedics, firefighters, EMTs and others.

Plus, those staples of tech schools such as welding continue to spark interest. “There’s a big demand for welders and we’ve expanded and added a satellite location for welding to meet the demand,” said Sabin of Minnesota North. The main welding program remains on the Eveleth campus and now a second location has opened in Grand Rapids. “We are also training students to work with Cobot welders, kind of like robotics but you can get closer to and work with the machine.” Cobot welders (collaborative robots) are automated welding systems designed to work safely alongside human operators.

Apprenticeship programs are also “increasingly attractive” to students, said Merrifield of the Wisconsin system, in part “because the cost for the student is low, they receive excellent training and are making money right from the start rather than going into debt.” In other words, earning while they are learning. “A new generation of students is considering this type of program that might not have considered it in the past.”

Northwood Tech supports apprenticeship training across multiple industries, such as construction, manufacturing, health care and service fields, with programs such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing, millwright, surgical technology and cosmetology, according to a recent article in Positively Superior. The college partners with employers throughout the region, such as Blakeman Plumbing, Bear Valley Electric, Western Wisconsin Health, and HealthPartners, to deliver apprenticeship training.  

Appealing all along the age spectrum

Tech schools have also successfully responded to educational and training needs all along the age continuum.

Most tech colleges in the region have strong connections with area high schools, offering a variety of pathways for high schoolers to earn college credits or to just learn more about college programs. Northwood Tech, for example, has more than 350 high school agreements with K-12 partners that provide access to college credit for high schoolers — and at no cost to the students. Minnesota North College annually offers students a variety of summer career exploration camps on its various campuses such as Scrubs Camp (healthcare) and SparkLab (welding) that align with technical trades and other program areas. 

Meanwhile, adult learners are also drawn to many tech school offerings, whether to pursue full associate-degree programs, earn certification in a particular field, or gain new skills or retraining for current or future jobs.

Mitch Johnson of Madison graduated from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse with an undergraduate degree in archaeology and worked in his field for three years. At that point, he said he was looking at moving on to a Ph.D. program, which would have meant “another six to eight years” of study. While he mulled that decision, he worked for a few more years in other jobs and eventually landed an electrical construction apprenticeship at Madison College. A five-year program, it paid Johnson to work four days a week as an apprentice and also paid for one day a week in the classroom. The result? He is now a licensed journeyman electrician. 

“That was five years, but you’re paid the whole time and paid while in class, rather than going into debt,” said Johnson, who now also serves as president of the 1,500 members of IBEW 159 (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) in his region.

“There is a place for four-year degrees but they are getting so expensive and not producing the same results for people that they used to,” Johnson said.

Adult learners are now a prime portion of tech colleges’ student populations. “We are seeing a shift in demographics to more non-traditional students, 25 and older,” said Kline of LSC. “They are becoming a larger piece of the pie. Our percentages used to be 80% traditional-age, 20% non-trad. Now, that number might be getting closer to 70-30.”

Employers: Tech colleges ‘play a vital role’

Area companies appreciate having tech schools in the region.

“Technical colleges play a vital role in developing the skilled workforce that manufacturers and other industries depend on,” said Kevin Boreen, CEO of Superior-based manufacturer Exodus Global. “Through our partnerships with Northwood Technical College and Lake Superior College, Exodus Global supports scholarships for students entering critical trades such as welding and CNC machining.”

Boreen, who serves on Northwood Tech’s foundation board, added, “These careers offer strong earning potential, long-term stability and a great quality of life while helping businesses like ours meet the workforce demands of the future.”

Dan Moline, chief operating officer of Duluth-based Moline Machinery, agreed. “Without having Lake Superior College and Northwood having these good programs here that can provide industry with trained graduates, we wouldn’t have that local pipeline for our recruiting base.” That’s especially helpful for businesses, said Moline, who serves on both welding and machining advisory boards for LSC, because these schools’ graduates “come to us job-ready.”

That job readiness seems to speak to how well tech schools are serving industry, but also how well they are meeting the needs of students across age ranges in the region. And for the future?

“I believe that higher education needs to adapt to suit the student rather than asking the student to adapt to our systems,” said Sabin, Minnesota North’s president. “That is the future of higher education. We need to be more flexible and in tune to how often people will have to upskill and change jobs and we will have to be a part of that life cycle as students are retraining and changing jobs.”