Training Programs Oversubscribed, Soon to Expand

College of the Canyons and Pierce College are among the educational institutions in the Valley on the brink of major developments in their automotive programs. While COC awaits the opening of its first facility designed specifically for automotive instruction, Pierce has received a $3 million grant that will allow the college to purchase three hybrid vehicles and other items that will enhance student learning. “We’ll be moving to Canyon Country to a new facility during the 2009-10 school year,” said Audrey Green, COC’s dean of program development in community education. Thus far the school has used Saugus High School as the site of its automotive program, but space constraints combined with the large number of students in the automotive program require that COC has its own building to teach auto courses. “We are offering four classes this fall, and there are 90 students total that are enrolled,” Green said. “Keep in mind, we can only accommodate so many students in a given class. The maximum number we can enroll is no more than 24 because of safety issues.” Automotive courses tend to meet for hours on end, which makes the addition of more space a priority. With more room, more courses can be held at once. Once ithe facility opens in 2009, COC will begin to examine teaching more complicated courses, including those that focus on alternative fuels. The ability to accommodate more students simultaneously will also allow COC to expedite students’ entry into the job market, according to Green. “One of the things that I think students often support here is the work experience component of this program, as you need to get the industry experience you will need to see what a technician does in their daily work,” she said. In addition to the new facility, COC is in the process of having its automotive program certified by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation. NATEF will determine whether COC meets appropriate standards in terms of curriculum, tools and learning outcomes for automotive students. The college is now in the process of filing its application with NATEF. Green said that industry insiders helped COC with the application process. Local auto dealers serve on the school’s advisory committee that meets once a semester. “They’ve been very involved in the curriculum development for the program and the direction of the program,” Green said. “They have made several donations to the program. They’ve donated equipment to us, loaned us things, reviewed all of the curriculum. They have been very supportive of the program.” At Pierce College, students and faculty were abuzz upon learning that the school received a $3 million government grant to be disseminated over a two-year period. The automotive program is one of the departments at the school that will benefit from the funding. “This grant will provide monies for some equipment and a couple of hybrid vehicles we can use to develop alternative fuel and hybrid training on campus, and it also includes a natural gas CNG refilling station that we’ll have here. We’ll be able to refill compressed natural gas cars on campus,” explained automotive instructor Tom Rosdahl. He added that the college put the grant to use by January. News of the grant came shortly after Pierce learned that General Motors would llikely not be offering training on hydrogen-fueled vehicles as previously proposed. “Manufacturers are all hurting,” Rosdahl said. “When they’re losing money they don’t have extra money to develop this stuff. It affects us to a degree.” Dealerships haven’t been reaching out to the college as much as they have in the past either, said Rosdahl. That’s because they typically reach out when they need employees, and, at this time, dealerships are cutting back. Still, he’s confident that Pierce graduates have an edge over their counterparts at other institutions. “The best technicians out here working in shops are the ones that were well educated,” he said. “Students who have gone through programs such as ours have a good (sense) for all components of car work. What we give them is a broad-based understanding of how the car functions. Our bread and butter for students is basic auto classes,how do you change oil, how do you put in brakes.” One positive Pierce has experienced in the wake of an uncertain economy is an increase in students. Rosdahl said that the shaky economy actually motivates people to go back to school to develop a trade or enhance their skills.