Electro-Mechanical Technology
Updated 6.1.24
Welcome to the Electro-Mechanical Technology program!
Electro-Mechanical Technology (EM-Tech) program offers premier workforce training through a 9-month Certificate and/or a 2-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. This nationally-recognized program prepares students to work with automated electronic technologies in a variety of industries, including power generation, semiconductor fabrication, unmanned aircraft systems and engineering. Our graduates get jobs as electrical and mechanical engineers, wind turbine and power plant technicians, UAV operators and service techs for mills, semiconductor plants, breweries, the agriculture industry, for organizations and companies nationwide or close to home like the US Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland General Electric, Cloudcap Technology, Insitu, Cardinal Glass, Intel, Hewlett Packard and many local manufacturing companies.
Our program is continually evolving to offer the kind of education and training our students (and our local industry partners) need to meet the rapid growth in high-skilled technology jobs over the next two decades. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that wind turbine jobs alone are growing 61 percent in the next 10 years, and thanks to the passage of the CHiPS Act in 2023, US semiconductor industry is expected to add 115,000 jobs by 2030.
Building on a solid foundation in math, our students learn in a rigorous, hands-on environment and are well-prepared to tackle the challenges of technology-focused industries.
Job Opportunities
Diverse employers from around the country seek out EM-Tech students for their broad and diverse skills and experience. EM-Tech graduates work as technicians in wind, hydropower, avionics manufacturing, food and beverage manufacturing and engineering fields.
Graduates of the program have been hired by Fieldcorp, Hewlett Packard, Insitu, US Army Corps of Engineers, Gemini Energy Services, Sydney Sugars, Cardinal Glass, White Creek Wind, Cloud Cap Technology, Custom Interface, Cannon Power Services, Oregon Cherry Growers, The Dalles Public Works, and many others.
More info
Columbia Gorge Community College's technician training program has undergone a progression of transformations over the last sixteen years as the college responds to workforce training needs in the region. What started as the Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program in 2001, evolved into the Renewable Energy Technology (RET) program in 2007 and now to the Electro-Mechanical (EM-Tech) program in 2017.