YORKTON – Suncrest College held an open house at their Trades and Technology Centre March 21 to promote their programs and attract potential students.
"We're opening up our doors to the public and giving them a little look inside to see what we do on the day-to-day," said Brady Lang, Communications Specialist with Suncrest College, in an interview with SaskToday.ca.
Lang said that attendance was "definitely within the hundreds" for the evening event.
"It's very nice to see the lobby of TTC (Trades and Technology Centre) filled up," said Lang, "it's a good turnout that's for sure."
Lang told SaskToday.ca that the appeal for potential students located in the Yorkton area boils down to the money they'd save and earn by enroling locally.
"At the end of the day we've done the number crunching and you could save up to $10,000 by simply taking your first year of university/college here," said Lang.
"A lot of these programs are getting these kids directly into their industry — it's not like they're going to be sitting there for the four years — they're looking at 12 weeks and into the workforce," added Lang.
And when it comes to attracting students from outside the area, Lang said the college offers some exclusive programs that you won't find anywhere else in the province.
"Something like the fire course — we are the only place in Sask that does have a firefighting program," said Lang, adding, "we're the only place in Sask where you can take sonography."
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography program announced in Feb. is currently the only one of its kind available in the province and gained the interest of a potential student from Regina.
Lanna Gartner, a business student at the University of Regina, said she made the trip from Regina to Yorkton to get information on the program.
"I was just really excited to learn more about the program since it's new and since it's in Sask. because we haven't had this kind of program in Sask," told Gartner to SaskToday.ca, adding, "I made the trip because it's something cool for Sask residents and it's new and they have a good reputation."
The college has three upcoming open houses in April at several of their other campuses including Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin.
"If you are interested in what Suncrest has to offer check us out or give us a call," said Lang, adding, "there are options that can help anyone in any field."
