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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Auto Techs Start Training in High School

West Valley Occupational Center is poised to lead an effort to produce highly qualified automotive technicians during a period in which industry insiders have raised concerns about dwindling automotive programs in public schools and limited resources for training. At its Automotive Advisory Committee Meeting Nov. 13, Principal Rich Wormus and Assistant Principal Henry Castillo outlined WVOC’s plans for improving instruction to meet the challenges of an evolving industry. The strategy they presented entails collaborating with high schools, community colleges, local dealerships and industry professionals alike. “We’re the largest occupational center in Los Angeles,” Wormus said. “We have 12 new programs. We’re trying to upgrade as many as we can.” The principal went on to characterize the school, which is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, as “the heart of the Valley,” in terms of its offering of automobile instruction. The set of classes WVOC offers in the field run the gamut. Training is provided on fundamentals, electronics, engine performance and repair, hand and power tools, brakes, diagnostics, steering and suspension and more. The school has certification from the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation and each of its automotive instructors has Automotive Service Excellence certification. Due to recently passed legislation that calls for more career technical education, WVOC expects to see an increase in the enrollment of high school students in its automotive classes. “There’s an emphasis on career technical education because we’re not going to be able to fill these jobs They [the industry] need to have replacements and we’re not bringing these people on board,” Wormus said. He added that, across the board, industries that require trade skills are facing shortages as Baby Boomers age out. West Valley provides instruction to adults and youths who have either left school or are still in school. The automotive classes WVOC offers to high school students will be broken down into 400 hour segments instead of the 1,200 hour blocks they are typically given in, according to Dominic Shambra, industrial education advisor for L.A.U.S.D.’s Division of Adult and Career Education. If Shambra had his way, students would begin receiving trade education as early as the seventh grade and would continue receiving such instruction through college. Steve Wilhelm, a WVOC instructor, said that career technical educational should be required, as it was when he was a youth. “We need to make it a mandate, not an option,” he stressed. In addition to exposing youth to such education at earlier ages, the WVOC board also advocated for the school forming alliances with high schools and community colleges. Tom Rosdahl, professor of automotive service at Pierce College, said that the only way to ensure that automotive students expand their knowledge base is if they move from high school to community college and, from there, into the workplace. “We have to articulate with high schools and they have to articulate with us,” he said. West Valley students will have the option to move on to Pierce once they have completed courses at WVOC. Pierce offers a comprehensive automotive program which culminates in a degree. Rounding out the circle will be Granada Hills Charter High School, who will send students interested in post-secondary instruction to WVOC for training. Once in the workforce, an entry-level technician can make anywhere from minimum wage to $40 per hour, according to the board members present. The WVOC administration is hopeful that the Perkins federal funds it anticipates receiving next April will advance its cause. At this time, however, the administration isn’t sure exactly what the amount of those funds will be. The teachers present at the meeting would like additional funding to go towards more equipment. This would enable pupils to obtain more hands-on experience, they believe. In particular, instructor Rod Van Zeller said he would like to have at least one lab scope per every handful of students. The device is used to view electrical signals as waveforms. “The more advanced students need to actually hold lab scopes in their hands,” he said. In addition to equipment, actual cars need to be on hand for training purposes, Van Zeller said. At present, he estimated that the school receives about five or six cars each year. It would be ideal, though, if the school were to receive that many each month, he said. Recent donations include a Mercedes presented by Calabasas Mercedes Benz and two motorcycles, but the school also accepts cars that would otherwise be placed in junkyards, Van Zeller said. Moreover, donors could receive tax write-offs on the gifts provided to the school. To adequately equip students for the automotive industry of the future, West Valley especially needs a hybrid vehicle to work on, the board agreed. Hybrid owners have traditionally taken their cars directly to the dealer, but they are now bringing them into private shops, according to Rosdahl. “That’s why there’s more of a need,” he said. While West Valley may need additional tools and automobiles, the school’s training grounds have seen improvements, according to Van Zeller. Potholes have been covered and new hoists to suspend cars have been provided. “What we need now, believe it or not, is more classroom space,” said Castillo, overseer of the automotive program. More space could prove helpful to instructors such as Aldo Robles, who expressed concerns during the meeting about having to teach intermediate and advanced students simultaneously. “Even if we have all the equipment that’s available, we’re still going to have a problem,” he said. Larger classrooms would just solve a portion of the problem. West Valley also seeks to improve the depth of instruction provided in them. Specifically, Castillo said that the school aims to integrate academics and automotive training to ensure that students can speak articulately to clients and properly fill out work orders, once employed. To build a bridge between school and the career world, some board members pitched the idea of having internships for automotive students. This way, students could obtain hands-on experience at dealerships. But Castillo said that implementing an internship program would be difficult, as it would require instructors to go out into the field with interns and oversee their work, which isn’t possible now. Despite the lack of a formal internship program, Van Zeller has managed to get several of his students hired at Kolbe Honda in Reseda,to stellar reviews. “The quality of employees I get out of here, you can’t find them anywhere else,” said the dealership’s Randy Galvin. “The way I look at it. I can’t get enough of them.” If you are interested in donating a vehicle to West Valley Occupational Center, contact Rod Van Zeller at (818) 825-4081

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