(C) South Dakota Searchlight
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Most South Dakota tech college grads finding jobs right away, according to new data • South Dakota Searchlight [1]
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Date: 2025-05
The vast majority of South Dakota’s technical college graduates from the 2023-24 school year secured jobs within six months of graduation, according to the latest state Board of Technical Education report.
Jenna Reis, policy and data analyst with the board, shared the report Thursday during a meeting at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown. She said that among graduates who are employable — not continuing with further education or joining the military — the data show 99% are employed, with 93% employed in a job related to their degree.
“These are strong numbers,” she said. “In fact, you may notice in the chart that we have very few graduates that are either not in the labor market or who are still seeking employment.”
The report evaluates the post-graduation outcomes of students from the state’s four technical colleges who responded to requests for information:
Lake Area Technical College (Watertown) : Out of 781 graduates, 768 responded, with 150 continuing their education or enlisting in the military, and 562 employed in their field of study with an average hourly pay of $27.23.
Mitchell Technical College : Out of 488 graduates, 480 responded, with 52 continuing their education or enlisting in the military, and 397 employed in their field of study with an average hourly pay of $24.36.
Southeast Technical College (Sioux Falls) : Out of 900 graduates, 778 responded, with 84 continuing their education or enlisting in the military, and 632 employed in their field of study with an average hourly pay of $24.68.
Western Dakota Technical College (Rapid City): Out of 286 graduates, 249 responded, with 39 continuing their education or enlisting in the military, and 200 employed in their field of study with an average hourly pay of $27.48.
Of the 2,275 graduates who responded, 1,961 — 86% — reported living in South Dakota. The average salary of all graduates working in their field of study was about $53,000 per year, according to Reis.
“I think these results show that our graduates are not only finding work and are staying in South Dakota, but they’re contributing to the workforce in their program areas, which is important,” she said.
The report drew data from graduate surveys, faculty outreach and phone surveys conducted six months post-graduation.
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[1] Url:
https://southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/most-south-dakota-tech-college-grads-finding-jobs-right-away-report-says/
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