August 14, 2013 - UTI-Avondale Hosts Career Fair to Bring Employment Opportunities to its Students

UTI-Avondale students meet with industry representatives at the campus’ career fair to gain insight and discuss potential employment opportunities.

Earlier this year, Universal Technical Institute (www.uti.edu) hosted a career fair for its students and graduates with potential employers, including Warren Cat, Penske, Wagner, FedEx and Cummins, at the Avondale, Ariz. campus. Given the growing need for skilled technicians as many current technicians approach retirement in the automotive repair industry, Saba Hamedy from The Arizona Republic attended the fair to speak with students, staff and potential employers about the reason for it, and how UTI is working to prepare its students to fill the looming skills gap.

In her article, Hamedy discusses UTI’s partnerships with companies such as Daimler Trucks North America, which offer elective courses through UTI-Avondale to prepare students with the proper skills and ability to become technicians within their companies – essentially investing in job training to produce skilled employees.

Beyond the retiring technicians currently in the workforce, employers discussed with Hamedy the skills gap also being related to the technology shifts in the industry, thus the shift in skills required for technicians to join its workforce. In conversations with potential employers at the career fair, Hamedy discovered that many of them are concerned that training hasn’t kept up with the technological advances.

Darla Peterson, a senior recruiter for Cummins, commented in the article, “There are so many more vehicles that have diesel engines [and] as a result, a lot more jobs that require technicians. I think the industry is growing so much and that’s where the shortage is coming from.”

UTI-Avondale student Angeline Deluca suggested to Hamedy that the need for technicians could be due in part to high school graduates being unsure of what they want to do with their lives. She noted that attending a two-year institution translates to determining a career path and leaves little room to switch gears. Deluca, however, was sure of her career path even before she graduated from high school.

“I’ve invested everything I have into getting this education, and these companies are willing to invest just as much into you as a technician,” Deluca said in Hamedy’s article.

Resounding sentiment among recruiters at the career fair was that they struggle to find skilled technicians and they were, without a doubt, looking to hire at the event. Of the approximately 850 students in attendance, 24 were given job offers and 94 had official interviews arranged with potential employers.

For more information about UTI, visit www.uti.edu. Follow UTI-Avondale on Facebook at www.facebook.com/utiphx and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/utitweet.