The Exton campus of Universal Technical Institute is taking students from 0 to 60 far quicker than a traditional university education and getting them onto the real-world racetrack with high-skilled and high-paying jobs.

“I work with a lot of young people,” state Rep. Duane Milne said in a recent Daily Local News report. “They’re confused if they’re not going to college. Meanwhile, the country is desperate for skilled labor. This place is considered a model for how a trade school can and should operate.”

Four out of five UTI students are working in their field within a year after graduating, Financial Aid Director Anthony Castrovillo said in the article, which covered an Exton Region Chamber of Commerce networking event at the school. “It’s a great experience for us to get local business owners to come out and take a peek under the hood.”

The hope is that partnering with local businesses will create more opportunities for its high-octane, graduates, including “attracting new employers to the area, which will in turn create additional job opportunities for entry-level auto technicians,” said state Rep. Becky Corbin, who also cited statistics that predict America will need an additional 1.2 million auto service technicians by 2022.

“There’s a great need for a technical training facility like this,” she said in the article. “‘Here, they take the STEM basics’ and put them to practical use.”

Read more about the need for skilled workers and the Chamber networking event, including a 150 mph test drive, in the Daily Local News here.