Graduates of a program that trains helicopter pilots are finding they are in high demand.

Dodge City Community College operates outreach campuses in Salina, Arizona and Utah. Students take the academic part of the program in Dodge City and the flight training through Universal Helicopters, based in Arizona.

Universal Helicopters hires all the graduates as part-time flight instructors while they complete their bachelor degrees at Kansas State University – Salina or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona.

About 120 students are enrolled in the program, including 12 in Dodge City. Between 150 and 160 students are expected to enroll in the spring semester.

Program officials say the graduates are finding work with oil rigs, medical evacuation operations or other companies.

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Associated Press information from: The Wichita Eagle