Scottsdale-based Universal Technical Institute UTI) and the mikeroweWORKS Foundation are awarding scholarships to UTI students who demonstrate a strong work ethic.
UTI added an extra $52,500 to its initial contribution of $100,000 to mikeroweWORKS' 2016 Work Ethic Scholarship Program. UTI also directly awarded scholarships worth $141,500 in the form of tuition reductions to applicants seeking careers as transportation service technicians.
"UTI's support has helped hundreds of young people to launch rewarding careers in the trades," Mike Rowe, CEO of mikeroweWORKS, said. "This additional donation demonstrates UTI's commitment to helping young people get the training they need for jobs that actually exist, pay well and help to keep our nation and economy moving."
The mikroweWORKS Foundation's Work Ethic Scholarship Program offers financial assistance to students pursuing an education in a vocational or trade-related program.
"Our industry partners count on us to recruit, train and place the technicians they need to serve their customers and grow their businesses." UTI Chairman and CEO Kimberly McWaters said. "They put equal value on strong technical skills and a solid work ethic, so this scholarship is a perfect fit for supporting the kind of students our employers want to hire. ... Because we cannot currently meet the growing demand for our graduates, UTI is delighted to invest in and reward the hard-working students who applied for a mikeroweWORKS scholarship and to support their dreams of building rewarding careers as professional technicians."
Rowe challenges the idea that a four-year degree is the best and only path to rewarding employment while calling attention to thousands of career opportunities with companies that are struggling to fill jobs requiring technical expertise.
The mikeroweWORKS Foundation and UTI partnership specifically calls attention to careers in the transportation industry. UTI works directly with top transportation manufacturers and employers to develop programs to meet the needs of the industry.