NTC—Bemidji’s Technical College is expanding its academic programming in response to the needs of its students and feedback from employers and workforce partners throughout Northern Minnesota.
An innovative partnership with Sanford Health will bring a new cardiac sonography program to NTC starting in the fall of 2026. NTC’s program will offer one of only five two-year cardiac sonography degrees in Minnesota and will be the northernmost program in the state by nearly 100 miles.
NTC is also adding both an associate of applied science degree program and a diploma in Information Technology Support and has expanded its incredibly popular Cosmetology Academy with an Advanced Practice Esthetics certificate.
These programs will address regional and state-wide need for well-educated and highly skilled professionals in these careers. Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) projects significant growth in employer demand for professionals in all four fields by 2032, with wages well above the state’s estimated cost of living.
Cardiac Sonography
NTC and Sanford Health are partnering on a new program that will train cardiac sonographers and improve the quality of heart care in northern Minnesota.
Cardiac sonographers — also called echocardiographers — are specialists who create detailed images of a patient’s heart using non-invasive, radiation-free ultrasound equipment. The images provide detailed information about the heart’s structure, function and blood flow, which can help physicians diagnose and monitor heart conditions.
As Minnesota’s population ages, heart disease — already the second-leading cause of death in the state — is projected to become more prevalent, increasing the need for technicians that are already difficult to hire. DEED projects that more than 1,000 new sonography jobs will be created in Minnesota by 2032, and while starting salaries will vary median salaries in the profession are more than $100,000 per year.
Through the unique partnership with Sanford Health, NTC students will be instructed by Sanford Health sonographers who will teach at NTC as part of a dual-appointment arrangement.
Information Technology Support
The college is adding both a 60-credit associate of applied science degree and 31-credit diploma in Information Technology Support. The credentials are stackable, meaning students can complete the 31-credit diploma and return at any time to complete the additional 29 required credits for the associate’s degree.
The diploma can be completed in two semesters and offers courses such as introduction to IT Helpdesk, operating systems, technical writing, networking, security and ethics.
Second-year courses for the associate’s degree include Windows server administration, network security, scripting languages, virtualization and server technologies and remote troubleshooting. The second year also includes customer support-related courses in human relations and interpersonal communication.
DEED projects that, by 2023, employment in network-support specialist roles will grow by nearly 7% and in user-support roles by nearly 5% by 2032, and employers are projected to add nearly 1,000 jobs. Median salaries in the profession range from $64,000–$78,000 per year.
Advanced Practice Esthetics
NTC has expanded its popular Cosmetology program with a standalone certificate in Advanced Practice Esthetics. The program, which started this spring, is intended for practitioners who have completed NTC’s existing Esthetics certificate or who hold a current Minnesota State Board of Cosmetology license in esthetics. The advanced-practice certificate trains new skills in dermaplaning, epidermal skin needling, chemical peels, advanced extractions, microdermabrasion and electrical energy treatments using electrical current, radio frequencies, ultrasound or light.
The 20-credit certificate program can be completed in two terms: a 13-credit full-time term offering NTC’s Clinical Esthetics and Advanced Esthetics 1 courses, and a 7-credit part-time term offering Advanced Esthetics 2 and Advanced Practice Esthetics 3.
Advanced Practice Esthetics courses were available at NTC beginning this spring.
DEED projects the state’s demand for skin-care specialists to grow by more than 11 percent by 2032. Median salaries in Northwest Minnesota tend to outpace salaries available elsewhere in the state and can reach nearly $50,000 per year — about $14,000 higher than the state-wide median.