Wyatt Ziebell, Automotive Instructor, gives regional dealers a tour through TMCC's automotive training facility.
Last month, Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) held an event with representatives from the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) to introduce regional automotive dealers to the auto training program and establish a working relationship for student placement.
“Our goal is to instill in our students the idea that once they complete their coursework through the Automotive Program at TMCC, they will have received all the training and certifications necessary to start work immediately at a regional dealership,” said J. Kyle Dalpe, Ph.D., Dean of Technical Sciences. “And for the dealers, this is an optimal way to find talented technicians, who are already certified to work for them, to fulfill their service needs.”
Mopar is the parts, service and customer care brand for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Dealers also had the opportunity to tour the automotive training facility at the TMCC Pennington Applied Technology Center, and attended an Employer Advisory Board meeting where they were able to give feedback to instructors and program administrators in order to continue improving the program.
TMCC is one of 64 Mopar CAP schools that offer training and certifications for Fiat-Chrysler Automobile (FCA) Dealers nationwide. The Automotive Program at TMCC has served over 6,000 students since 1992 with several industry recognized credentials. By building the Mopar CAP credentials into the curriculum, students will be able to gain additional skills.
In fall 2018, TMCC’s Automotive Program became an authorized FCA training center delivered through Mopar CAP. Instructors administer online FCA curriculum as it aligns with the existing courses and students complete a final online assessment. Students completing all training can earn Level 0 and Level 1 certifications to enter the workforce as dealer authorized service technicians, which should also result in higher starting wages.
“Students will be able to learn the role of a service technician, so they understand what it’s going to be like to work in a shop at a dealership, and they will be getting their training straight from the source,” said Wyatt Ziebell, Automotive Instructor. “They’ll be ready to work on day one after their training is complete.”
Mopar CAP, in partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), will offer the certification program to TMCC students at no additional cost. The curriculum aligns with the existing automotive courses, and students will complete a final online assessment in order to receive their FCA certification to begin work at regional dealerships.
“We had anticipated graduating our first cohort of authorized technicians in Spring 2020; however, most of our current second year students have requested access to the training and are completing the modules that are part of year 1 curriculum,” said Barbara Walden, Director of Applied Technologies at TMCC. “We currently have about 200 students enrolled in the program and will be graduating our first Mopar CAP certified technicians in Spring 2019.”
As the program and curriculum continue to grow, TMCC will have the opportunity to offer dealer technician trainings for higher level certifications. For more information, please visit TMCC’s Automotive Program website, or call 775-856-5300.