Emtek president previews Heber City campus, cites rapid growth and apprenticeship demand

Clay Christiansen, president of Emtek, told the Wasatch County School Board that the technical college’s new Heber City campus is scheduled for substantial completion on June 26 and is set to open for fall classes, with an initial projected enrollment of about 675 students and physical capacity for roughly 1,200.

Christiansen framed the expansion as a response to rapid systemwide growth. “This past year, we had just over 7,000 students,” he said, adding that Emtek now has nearly 600 employees and offers 38 different programs. He highlighted apprenticeship growth — from 534 apprentices in 2018 to about 1,113 this year — and said the college graduated a record 2,600 students last year, noting, “99.7 percent of them graduated with no educational debt.”

The presentation emphasized industry partnerships that supply equipment and instructors. Christiansen described advisory committees for every program and examples such as supplier support for welding labs and partnerships with local health providers for clinical programs. He said the college often hires industry professionals as short-term instructors, pays stipends or travel costs when needed and uses blended learning and evening schedules to increase capacity.

Christiansen also discussed transfer pathways: Emtek students can access more than 650 transferable credits to Utah Valley University (UVU) and other pathways that reduce duplication of coursework. He said competencies earned through Emtek allow students to “move them further faster” toward associate or bachelor’s degrees.

Board members asked how the district could support Emtek’s enrollment; Christiansen asked for help coordinating with high school counselors and student services, increasing public awareness of available programs and sharing logistics such as parking or snow removal during the early years of the campus. He noted the college worked closely with local school districts and trustee representatives when developing the Heber site.

Emtek’s officials said the Heber campus will include apprenticeship labs (electrical, plumbing, HVACR), and that the college will continue to work with the legislature and system leadership to secure resources as demand grows. Christiansen credited legislative and system support — including local lawmakers and the system of higher education’s prioritization — for expediting the project’s timeline from proposal to funding.