KALAMAZOO – The deadline to apply for Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s second Automotive Academy and its accelerated training model to provide the next generation of technicians for employment in the profession is April 30.
The inaugural 18-member academy, which convened in early September of 2007, is in the middle of its second phase of training and will conclude in August after some ?in-the-shop? experience.
Among the selection criteria in the competitive process are the quality of the written applications, a ?documented work ethic,? interest in and knowledge of automotive technology, letters of recommendation, and driving records.
As part of the process, David ?Charlie Fuller, KVCC?s director of career academies in advanced technology, and members of the automotive program?s advisory committee will interview each applicant.
The three-phase, 42-week approach to fast-track training has been requested by Southwest Michigan auto dealerships and automotive shops.
The fee for the second academy is $9,000 for more than 1,500 hours of intensive, targeted professional instruction. This includes uniforms valued at $300, $700 worth of textbooks, and $7,000 in high-tech tools that automotive technicians need to function.
?The automotive academy is like a job,? Fuller said. ?We look for students who can make a full-time commitment, not somebody who will skip a class here and there.?
Beginning on Sept. 2, the enrollees will be in class or in the lab from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and 8 to 2:30 on Fridays.
In addition to stressing the eight automotive-knowledge areas that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and preparing students to reach those standards, the KVCC academy will explore advanced-technology and hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels because, in many instances, a different branch of knowledge is required. Auto-body repairs may also some day come into play.
Financial aid is available, and scholarship funds awardable through the Kalamazoo Promise also qualify for the KVCC Automotive Academy.
While the accelerated-training modules are non-credit entities, those who successfully complete the academy, which will be 100 percent directed toward automotive courses, can be eligible for 33 credits.
Those can be applied toward a two-year degree (66 credit hours) by completing additional technical courses and passing classes in college and technical writing, technical math, political science, social science, and wellness/physical education.
Fuller can be contacted for more information by calling (269) 488-4178. Tell him MITechNews.Com referred you.
A complete program description and application can be downloaded from the automotive program?s webpage. KVCC.Edu/Automotive Then click on Automotive Academy and scroll to program description and application.
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