According to government data, even though manufacturing in general continues to shrink as a proportion of the U.S. economy, domestic high-tech manufacturing has been expanding, and with it, the need for skilled workers. Hence high school students are taking at the Manufacturing Technology Academy (MTA), a 4-year-old dual-enrollment program on the southwest campus of the two-year, public St. Philip's College. After entering the program in their junior year of high school, students who complete their studies pick up 30 college credits along with their diplomas. That's enough to get them hired as skilled employees, which many quickly are. So an industry often thought of as an American anachronism is proving to be a bright spot for technically minded students. Instead of the college debt and tough job hunts that many graduating high school students face, manufacturing students in San Antonio are being hired by employers even right out of high school. Despite the availability of manufacturing jobs, it remains to be seen whether more students will come to MTA to prepare for them. Many people think of manufacturing as "a dull, dirty job that's more or less a sweatshop." Several MTA instructors and affiliated employers said the program has been slower to expand than the other academies because of manufacturing's dated image.