Perryville has another educational presence in town.
Ranken Technical College held an open house in its new facility that recently was completed on Tuesday.
The facility will be called Ranken-Southeast and had both prospective students and community members checking out the newest addition to town.
“This is a brand-new building,” Ranken President Don Pohl said. “Historically we had been located in building 10 on the campus of TG-Missouri. This is the first time people have really been inside. We have summer classes running right now.”
The new building located near TG-Missouri has been well received and Pohl was hoping for between 100-150 people to visit during the open house. The building has a max capacity of about 200 students and was completed earlier this year.”
“It’s been great so far,” Pohl said. “The community has been great to us and we love Perryville. Companies like Gilster, TG-Missouri, and Robinson Construction have welcomed us with open arms. Our challenge is now to get more students interested in technical careers.”
The new Ranken facility is 25,000 square feet and will have programs such as, welding, diesel technology, Information technology, and HVAC.
“Pohl said more and more the nation and communities such as Perryville are looking for students with technical skills.
“There are a lot of opportunities out there,” he said. “I’d even say there are more opportunities than there are people to fill them. Ultimately, the more students we can get, the better. Right now we have about 60 job opportunities per graduate. In fact we can’t even have a job fair because many of the students already have jobs when they graduate.”
It was important for Pohl to have a Ranken facility in Perryville.
“It’s really about growth,” he said. “As companies like TG-Missouri continue to grow, we need to grow with them. “We use Gilster’s facility as a diesel shop and it’s important for us to have a presence. Now we need students.”
Ranken has already began their summer semester, but they are ready to start in the fall.
“We are not full yet. There is no waiting list,” Pohl said. “The sooner the students sign up, the better chance they have of getting into the program they want.”
