In October, the college sent out a press release detailing what has been a huge year, with highlights including:

• “In the 2025 academic year, OTECH awarded 1,813 certificates across 32 high-wage, high-demand programs, a 35% increase.
• OTECH’s overall headcount grew to 7,558 students, a 14% increase.
• At OTECH, programs are affordable, flexible, and fast with completion in as little as three months.
• High ROI with OTECH’s 2025 graduates earning over $157 million in starting wages.”

Ogden-Weber Technical College President Jim Taggart told the Standard-Examiner on Thursday that this trend is hardly anything sudden.

“We certainly have seen a strong trend in growth over the past year,” he said. “This growth really is not just one year growth. We have seen sustained growth since the pandemic. We’re serving now over 7,500 students. Five years ago, we were probably at 4,800 students.”

He said one of the biggest contributors is a changing perception of education.

“When I started in technical education over 30 years ago, it was really viewed as there were two tracks for individuals once they graduated from high school,” he said. “You either get a four-year degree, or you go to, at that time, they were called vocational schools or technical colleges. The idea was for those individuals that can’t cut the rigor of a four-year degree, you go to a tech school. That has really, really changed. The technical colleges in the state of Utah are part of the Utah System of Higher Education along with our community colleges and our universities. The idea that a technical college is ‘less than’ does not really play out anymore, especially if you look at the economics of it.”

Taggart added that it’s also less of an “either or” proposition in the modern day.

“Getting a technical certificate is the best way of getting a degree and having both a technical college certificate and a degree that actually gives you the very best earning power,” he said. “The technical college certificate shows that you have the hands-on technical skills to be employed and, with our wonderful articulation partnerships with all of the universities in the state of Utah, it’s many times a faster way to complete a degree with our transfer agreements.”

He said this is in addition to several partnerships with area high schools that have helped steer students toward technical fields.

According to Taggart, manufacturing and aerospace related programs have seen the biggest growth at Ogden-Weber Tech. The largest programs are currently welding and the electrical apprenticeship programs.

Taggart said while growth is essential and the numbers have been impressive, one other statistic has stood out above everything else.

“All of our 30-plus programs are specifically aligned with high-demand jobs in our community, so we need to grow so we can meet that demand,” he said. “But what we’re more impressed about is not just the growth, but the number of students who are completing our programs. Last year, we had a 35% increase in the number students who were completing their certificates. Since 2020, since the pandemic, that’s a 105% increase in the number of students who are completing their certificates.”

He said that this shows that the college is on the right track for the future.

“That tells us that our certificates are the right length and that they’re aligned with what our community and the state of Utah need in terms of a technically skilled workforce,” he said.

Looking ahead, Taggart said the college itself will be experiencing some growth in order to accommodate demand.

“Two years ago, the Legislature funded a new $84 million instructional service and student support building on our campus,” he said. “We’ll be breaking ground for that this spring. That will allow us to expand programs. That will allow us to reduce waiting lists and serve an additional 2,000-plus students each year.”

He said the college will continue to keep up with what’s needed to propel students to success in an ever-changing economy.

“We want to make sure that our content, our curriculum, even our equipment that we’re training our students on is meeting employer needs,” he said. “We want to make sure that a student that graduates from Ogden-Weber Tech College is value to that employer on day one.”