Employment Services Is Now Career Services

There are several support services for students attending Universal Technical Institute. One is Career Services, formerly known as Employment Services.

The name change to Career Services comes from a desire to better align with the term commonly used in the industry. The name, however, is the only change. The same people are here to help students under the new Career Services umbrella.

Career Services features a dedicated team of Career Advisors who offer a custom-tailored approach to help students based on their individual needs. Keep reading to learn a bit more about what this team offers and how it can help both students and employers make meaningful connections.1

Goals of the Department

The Career Services team doesn’t just help students find employment. It helps students establish themselves to pursue careers. This is done by helping them develop key professional soft skills independent of the technical training received in one of the programs they’re enrolled in.

In short, the hands-on experience, skills and education that students gain from UTI is what will help them get noticed, but the skills they learn from Career Services can help them throughout their careers.

Students have access to thousands of jobs on the UTI job board, thanks to employer relationships that UTI has developed through the years. Career Services works to equip and empower students with the professional tools they’ll need to differentiate themselves during the hiring process by providing services that include:

• On-campus interviews
• Professional résumé development
• Career development classes
• Interview training techniques
• Individual career coaching

There’s a great emphasis on assisting students preparing to pursue careers, although employment cannot be guaranteed. UTI graduates also have access to support from Career Services when it comes to looking for the next step in their careers or wishing to start a career in a new area.

Key Career Services Initiatives

Members of the Career Services team wear different hats to make sure the needs of each student are met. Apart from helping students learn the skills they need to find and keep a job, there are also a few key initiatives that the department has developed to provide even more assistance:

Tuition Reimbursement & Incentives Program

The Tuition Reimbursement & Incentives Program (TRIP) involves some employers who offer incentives to qualifying graduates who end up working for them.14 Some of the incentives they’ve offered our grads include student loan repayment assistance, hiring incentive packages, tool purchase assistance and even sign-on bonuses.

Early Employment Program

Launched in July 2019 at the Avondale campus, the Early Employment Program (EEP) has now expanded to reach all UTI locations, including NASCAR Tech.36 This program allows students to combine their education from UTI with work experience to get a feel for what being in the industry is like.

The Career Services team helps match employers with students in their locales for consideration as part-time employees. Students in the EEP also may become candidates for full-time positions when they graduate and have the potential to receive reimbursement from employers for education-related expenses although this varies by employer. All decisions are made by the employer.

Giving students the potential to form meaningful industry connections is a goal of this initiative. Students in the Automotive, Diesel and CRRT programs are eligible to apply for EEP, and requests for application into the program can be submitted to earlyemployment@uti.edu.

Career Services Is Here to Help

Whether you’re a UTI student, graduate or an employer looking to hire, Career Services has the resources to help. Team members are here to listen and come up with approaches to help with your goals! They also host career fairs and interview days to help students and employers connect and start conversations.

Visit our Career Services page to learn more if you’re a student or grad, and check out our Employer Resources page to find out more about how we can help identify the talent needed to fill open positions.