ETI School of Skilled Trades

ETI School of Skilled Trades has taught heating, cooling, and welding careers since 1973 from its campus at 500 Joliet Road in Willowbrook, Illinois, and has been accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges since 1987 with Illinois Board of Higher Education approval. Its two programs — HVAC/R and skilled welding — can be completed in as few as 7 months on a continuous, year-round admissions calendar with no application fee. Welding students train in a 14,000-plus-square-foot industry-current lab covering SMAW, GMAW, GTAW, and oxy-fuel cutting, while HVAC/R students prepare to test for EPA Section 608 Universal Certification. The school conferred 275 awards in 2023-24 (182 HVAC/R, 93 welding), enrolled 443 students in fall 2024 at a 31:1 student-instructor ratio, and reports an 80% federal graduation rate, with 70% of graduates receiving a full-time job offer within six months per Illinois workNet. Tuition and fees for the largest program (HVAC/R) were $14,685 for 2024-25, with total program cost including books and fees around $16,920 per the state's training-program listing.