Take a look inside WyoTech’s immersive approach to technician education

WyoTech campus building in Laramie, Wyo.

There aren’t many tech schools like WyoTech. You see that the second you walk onto the school’s Laramie, Wyo., campus. 

During a tour for HDA Truck Pride as part of the group’s annual meeting Wednesday, WyoTech’s leadership team showcased the unique and innovative ways WyoTech is working to prepare trucking’s next generation of diesel technicians. 

“Our goal is to provide the best training, student experience and outcomes for all involved,” says Jim Mathis, WyoTech co-owner, president and CEO. 

Founded in 1966, WyoTech has graduated more than 55,000 technicians into the North American workforce over the years. 

Mathis is one of those alums. He spent 25 years as an instructor and supervisor early in his career and returned to purchase the school in July 2018 when prior ownership was contracting its technical education business. At the time, Mathis says the school had 12 students and 12 instructors. 

WyoTech students working on wheel end

This October its enrollment will surpass 1,000, and Vice President of Training Shawn Nunley says the school’s goal is 10,000 students by 2030. 

“How do we get there?” he says. “We don’t know yet. But that’s our goal.”

Nunley and Mathis credit the professionalism and commitment of students and instructors alike for the school’s recent meteoric growth.

“Once you buy-in, you get it, you want to be involved,” Mathis says. “Half our instructors are WyoTech grads.”

[RELATED: How you can build a technician recruiting pipeline]

And those instructors are teaching everything. 

WyoTech’s curriculum is as diverse as it is informative. Students at WyoTech choose one of three core programs — automotive, diesel or collision/body shop — that they study for six months. After that, students are able to choose from nine electives that will fulfill their final three months on campus.

WyoTech students working under hood

The accelerated timeline is possible thanks to WyoTech’s intense educational schedule. Students go to class for eight hours and 20 minutes each day, and the professional nature of the WyoTech program is unparalleled in the industry. WyoTech requires students to wear uniforms, come clean shaven and on-time every morning and instructors take attendance eight times per day (attendance also accounts for 5% of a student’s grade).

Mathis says the standards are necessary to train the students to recognize the expectations they will see when they enter the field. 

“We teach them to be professional because that’s what employers need,” he says. 

WyoTech also has expansive career services programs to help students prepare for their post-education lives, which include resume guidance, interview prepping and more. Nunley says WyoTech’s goal is to graduate the best entry-level technicians they can for the industries they serve. 

Director of Industry Outreach Cindy Barlow also is quick to point out WyoTech’s location doesn’t limit its scope. 

The school recruits nationally — maybe 5% of students are from Wyoming — and Barlow says it is eager to continue developing its recruiting pipelines to bring more students to Laramie. She says many WyoTech students come to the school fully intending to return to their hometowns and states for their careers and that’s okay. 

That’s what the school wants. WyoTech wants to educate the next generation of technicians regardless of where their service bays are located. 

“We find students gain a lot of maturity coming here and being away from home,” she says. 

To learn more about WyoTech and support the school, contact [email protected].

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