October 2, 2013 - Arizona DES Supervisor Gary Phillips Discusses Education and Career placement for Veterans at UTI’s Avondale Campus

UTI-Avondale campus.

Recently, Universal Technical Institute’s Avondale campus welcomed Gary Phillips from the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) for a conversation about how the campus works to help veterans find employment once they complete their education. Phillips also took a tour of the campus and expressed interest in learning how future veteran student services, career services and DES could work more closely in the future.

“UTI graduates who are also veterans need help finding jobs,” Phillips said. “This seemed like a great opportunity to connect with the campus and learn how we can work together. It was a very informative tour and I was impressed with the integral employment services the campus offers students.”

The Arizona Department of Economic Security promotes the safety, well-being and self sufficiency of children, adults, and families. The organization’s goals are to help strengthen families, increase self-sufficiency, collaborate with communities, improve accountability through active performance-monitoring and increased transparency and improve outcomes for Arizonans by creating a person-centered human services system. Philips is a former military veteran and has worked with the organization for more than 17 years.

“Our goal is to provide our students not only with the proper training needed to accomplish their career goals of being a certified technician but also providing them with the resources following graduation to help them find the right opportunity,” said Mike Romano, campus president of UTI-Avondale. “We are proud our campus can play a helpful and positive role in providing resources for our graduates and look forward to working with the Department of Economic Security to help place these veterans in need.”

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) is the leading provider of post-secondary education for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians. With more than 170,000 graduates in its 48-year history, UTI offers undergraduate degree, diploma and certificate programs at 11 campuses across the United States, as well as manufacturer-specific training programs at dedicated training centers. The Avondale campus has the capacity to train up to 2,500 students.

“Being part of the Department of Economic Security enables me to play an integral role in helping members of our community get the support they need to improve their life and help grow the economy,” Phillips said. “It was comforting to learn that UTI is committed to developing the whole student job readiness placement, customer service, attendance, punctuality and dress. We look forward to collaborating with the local campuses.”

The U.S. Department of Labor reports unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time since September 2001--a group referred to as Gulf War-era II veterans--declined by 2.2 percentage points to 9.9 percent in 2012. UTI-Avondale provides assistance and has dedicated staff for all incoming students who are veterans.

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