<p><a href="https://www.bmwstep.com/bmw-mstep/" data-sf-ec-immutable="">BMW MSTEP</a> training program graduate Tanner Lambert, a Marine Corps veteran, has worked on cars his whole life. </p><p>&ldquo;It began out of necessity,&rdquo; Tanner said. &ldquo;My family needed to save some money on repairs, so I started helping my dad.&rdquo; </p><p>He began to enjoy repairing vehicles more as a teenager when he got better at it, but didn&rsquo;t follow his passion for cars right after high school. </p><p>&ldquo;I went straight into college, because that&rsquo;s what I thought I was supposed to do. But after three years, I just couldn&rsquo;t afford it anymore. I decided to join the Marine Corps, knowing I&rsquo;d have the GI Bill<sup>&reg;</sup> to fall back on.&rdquo;</p><p>Later, Tanner would find a way to gain new skills during his military service &mdash; and it didn&rsquo;t cost him a dime.</p><h2>Reigniting the Spark</h2><p>Tanner was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he found a love for the beach and scuba diving. He worked as a photographer, putting his technician skills to the side for a few years. But an old BMW 330i, a gift from his dad when he returned to the United States, reignited Tanner&rsquo;s love of working on vehicles.</p><p>Soon after, Tanner heard about the manufacturer-paid BMW MSTEP programs offered at <a href="https://www.uti.edu/blog/automotive/bmw-mstep-program-2" data-sf-ec-immutable="">Camp Pendleton, California</a>, and <a href="https://investor.uti.edu/2021-12-17-Inaugural-Class-of-Fort-Bragg-BMW-MSTEP-Program,-Taught-by-UTI,-Celebrates-Their-Graduation-Prepares-for-New-Civilian-Careers-as-BMW-Technicians" data-sf-ec-immutable="">Fort Bragg, North Carolina</a>.<sup>15</sup> He wasn&rsquo;t sure he would qualify since his military experience didn&rsquo;t include technician training, but all those years helping his dad in the garage worked out better than he could have imagined.</p><p>&ldquo;I had already planned to go to <a href="/home">UTI</a> with my GI Bill<sup>&reg;</sup> after I finished serving, but then I heard about the MSTEP program, which I could finish before the end of my military contract,&rdquo; Tanner said. &ldquo;I knew I couldn&rsquo;t pass up the opportunity, so I applied and got accepted. When you think of quality training, you think of UTI. And when you think of BMW, you think of professionalism, quality and a standard of excellence. I wanted to be associated with those values.&rdquo;</p><h2>Navigating the Job Market</h2><p>Tanner graduated from the program at Fort Bragg in fall of 2022 and took a trip with a fellow graduate to interview at dealerships in Florida, where he could find the sun and surf he&rsquo;d been missing. </p><p>He applied at four BMW dealerships, receiving job offers from three of them. With a competitive salary and benefits package in hand and a location a few miles from the coast, Tanner started his career as a BMW technician at Ferman BMW in Palm Harbor, Florida, in November 2022.<sup>6</sup></p><p>&ldquo;When dealerships hire veterans, they&rsquo;re getting somebody who has been in a leadership position. They know how to look out for themselves and others around them,&rdquo; Tanner says. &ldquo;I would absolutely recommend the BMW MSTEP program to transitioning service members. It&rsquo;s an opportunity to put yourself ahead and it&rsquo;s going to set you up for success immediately upon transitioning out of the service.&rdquo;</p><h2>BMW MSTEP Enrollment Open</h2><p>For more information on the <a href="https://www.bmwstep.com/bmw-mstep/" data-sf-ec-immutable="">BMW MSTEP</a> program, please contact April Rhodes, Universal Technical Institute&rsquo;s Director of National Military Admissions, by calling her at <a href="tel:6027401393" data-sf-ec-immutable="">(602) 740-1393</a> or by <a href="mailto:arhodes@uti.edu">emailing her</a>.</p>