Gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee visited Renton Technical College’s campus on Friday afternoon and heard from students and instructors on the present state of education.

Inslee, who represents the state’s 1st District in Congress, got a quick tour of selected campus programs and then sat down for a roundtable discussion with students, RTC Board of Trustees member Susan Palmer and RTC President Steve Hanson.

Inslee’s opponent, Rob McKenna, visited the campus recently as well. McKenna is the state’s attorney general.

“I thought they both did a great job – lots of good questions and good interaction with the students, very appreciative of the students and the work that they’re doing,” said Hanson.

Hanson said he felt that during Inslee’s visit, the congressman really wanted to understand what they are doing on campus, how the school fits into the education system and he felt Inslee really connected with students.

“When you looked at the students, you could feel that they appreciated the questions that he had and the attention,” Hanson said.

Inslee came to the campus because he sees Renton Technical College and others like it as the single most important factor to restoring the economy because of the job skills the schools produce.

“This is an epicenter of our economic recovery because it’s taking people in a very short period of time and providing the wherewithal to keep Boeing here to build the tanker, to build the 737, to continue our software creative energies going forward,” Inslee said. “And the only way we’re going to work our way out of some of our fiscal issues is by having good jobs and you have to have good people to have good jobs.”

Inslee visited a class in the college’s aerospace assembly mechanic program and met with instructor Howard Blinder.

Blinder explained how many skills students learned in the program are prerequisites for working at Boeing in certain positions.

The next stop on the tour was to a class in the anesthesia technician program. RTC’s program is one of just five in the country.

Instructor Gary West explained how he came to the program and detailed how they are supported often by local hospitals who supply equipment.

“This is where the American dream comes true right here in these classes,” said Inslee, after visiting several English as a Second Language classes.

ESL student Lampathou Vongsa told the candidate how she works at Snoqualmie Casino to support her education in the hopes of becoming a small business owner one day.

She is from Loas. Teaching pre-literate to level 5 ESL classes, RTC has one of the most comprehensive ESL programs in the state, according to Susanna Williams, with RTC college relations.

In a major appliance and refrigeration technology program class, Inslee learned from Instructor Paul Baeder about the high demand for his graduates.

The roundtable discussion brought more thoughtful discussion and dialogue. Inslee even brainstormed ways a student, Ioana Stiuca from Romania, could increase her chances of getting a job. Stiuca felt disenfranchised and that no one wanted to hire her. She was a physics teacher in her country.

“I want to help you because some of the most inspiring people are people that came from other countries,” Inslee told her.

He asked Hanson about the link among the college’s basic-skills programs, job placement services and employment. Seventy-five to 80 percent of RTC graduates are getting jobs, Hanson said.

“So, the institutions are doing a pretty good job of matching the production of skill sets with the jobs that are in fact needed,” Inslee said.

Four-year institutions, he said, need to do a better job in that regard. More could be done to graduate people overall in STEM or science, technical, engineering and mathematical degree programs, Inslee said.

The key to keeping aerospace strong in the region is to keep aerospace workers here strong, he said.

“Our fundamental really competitive advantage we have, that I think is fundamental for Boeing continuing to stay here and building the 737 MAX here, is the fact that our people are the best aerospace workers in the world,” Inslee said.

With 10s of thousands of Boeing workers retiring in the next several years, he said keeping a strong workforce he is important and technical institutes are key.