WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Saluting graduates as they leave the safety of high school behind, President Barack Obama held up a revitalized New England technical school on Wednesday as a model for the United States in an increasingly competitive global workforce.

At Worcester Technical High School, Obama praised students and teachers alike for giving more than just “lip service” to the idea of skills-based education. He said the graduates were finishing senior year knowing how to run a restaurant, fix a computer or manage a household — skills that he said would let them begin their careers right away.