A Time to Give

One of our sister publications, Tomorrow’s Technician, sponsors a “School of the Year” program every year with the kind assistance of Chicago Pneumatic. It is open to High School and Post-Secondary automotive/collision and/or diesel training facilities. We reach out to our readers and ask them to tell us why they should be called the “School of the Year”. We choose four schools from across the country. This year we received more than 100 nominating letters from our readers! Chicago Pneumatic awards thousands of dollars worth of tools for prizes to 3 runners-up schools and one grand prize winner to recognize their excellence.

This year, as I read through the stack of applications I am struck by the similarity of the sentiments expressed and written over and over, by students and instructors across the country.

A couple of general themes emerge,
1 – lack of support at the local school or government level
2 – lack of new tools or equipment to train with
3 – the incredible dedication of the teaching staff
4 – the educational level of the teaching staff (most are ASE Master Technicians in many areas of expertise)
5 – the love these students feel for their chosen field of work. These young people are excited to come to school to learn more, and excited to begin a career in automotive.

I could go on about all the interesting things they say, but I would prefer to let their own words speak for themselves. And then I would encourage you to consider this question: What am I doing to bring quality people into our industry? Whether you’re an independent shop owner, a technician, a manufacturer or someone else involved in this industry, it is up to us all, individually to do our best to bring in the next generation of professionals to the automotive aftermarket.

"My school not only teaches us how to repair and diagnosis vehicles, it also teaches us employability skills. This school has done more for the community and its students than any I have sseen. The school teaches work ethics that coincide with the regular curriculum, has the computer lab for Key Train students (so that they can be leaders in their workplace), helps with local community outreach programs for disadvantaged families, helps their students excel in studies by a workplace atmosphere, 100% enrolled in Skills USA and knows most of their students by name and face. Teamwork, leadership, and unity are everyday events at our school. We have been taught to help not only our classmates but our community in everyday situations. " Student at Tennessee Technology Center in Dickson, TN

"I think my school should be named school of the year because our teachers teach us everything we need to know about our chosen career fields. Our school can really use the tools also. I am enrolled in the auto-body class and we have a shortage of tools. Everybody in my class needs the tool that someone else has. Thank you for your time." Student at Terrebonne Vo-Tech HS

“This is my second year teaching. When I started I was given a empty shop and classroom. Since I have restored this class, we do work just like a bodyshop. At the start of my second year, my class had the largest number of students sign up out of the whole school. In previous years the number of students that dropped out was very high. This year so far I had 1 drop compared to 8 my first year at this time in the school year. I think my students have come a long way and they deserve the recognition.” M. Pennison, Instructor at Terrebonne Vo-Tech HS

“Since our school is new, we don’t really have enough money for the programs so we can’t really expand our knowledge without spending a little money. Please choose our school because we will be very gracious that you blessed us with the money for our Transportation program. If you don’t, I will understand because there are a lot of other schools that are in need of money with the economy being screwed up. So good luck in finding the winner!” Student from East Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas, NV

“Our goal is to provide the most up to date, current educational processes and techniques for our automotive technology students and prepare them for this ever changing industry. But it is our focus on the education of the whole person that makes the larger difference. I must say that our department chairman would literally give a student the shirt off his back to help keep the youth in school. The compassion, care and dedication here is something not seen in many post secondary settings. Young men and women are being molded and shaped to be accountable, productive, skilled, active employees and citizens of their prospective communities. We strive to instill in our students the importance and privilege of education and self pride in themselves and their work. We help students stand up straight with their shoulders back, look the world in the eye, set a goal and go after it. We also teach the concept that all persons need to be proeductive and active members of their communities.” C. Stenseth, Aims Community College, Ft. Lupton, CO

“Our school should be school of the year because our teacher is awesome and plus we need some new tools. He is a very hard worker and teaches us everything about the automotive field. We don’t have the support from the school district to get new tools. It would be the best thing that ever happened to our program. We would really appreciate it if you would pick our school to be School of the Year.” Student at Laurens District 55 HS

“My school should be named because our auto shop program is one of few in our country. The program is quickly dying out. Our shop is underfunded, has no support from the school. We have old tools, a lot broken or missing. Our teacher puts his heart into teaching us to good technicians and be successful in life. We also have two after school clubs Skills USA and Terrier Tech Race Team, which is where we build a 1931 Model “A” Ford from the ground up and the five students that do the most work and put the most hours into the car get to go to Springfield, MO to race in the Hemmings Challenge. All of that is done out of his pocket and fund raising. The school only lets us use the shop, they put no support into it.” Student at Titusville HS, in Titusville, FL

“The recent addition of the Heavy Equipment degree option allows students to obtain specialized training which prepares them to work on construction equipment – a field that is teeming with employment opportunities both regionally and nationally. The college has also joined forces with Fabick-Caterpillar and students who complete this degree option are prepared to apply for an internship with this major regional employer. Fabick has clearly indicated they are looking for our best and brightest. Southeastern's program boasts ASE Master Mechanic instructors, a Smart classroom, a computer lab and a shop floor equipped with Mitchell 1 ON-DEMAND 5 software, which increases technicians productivity.” R. Lindhorst, Instructor at SE Illinois College

"Alleghany High School is one of the smallest high schools in the state of North Carolina and yet we maintain the highest automotive test scorres in the state. We are also NATEF certified. Alleghany High is located in a rural community but is able to have an active advisory committee that supports the auto tech program completely. at Alleghany High we embrace technology by keeping up with up-to-date scan tools and by using online reference materials. we are also experimenting with the capabilities of hydrogen fuel and we manage all of this with little to no money. We think that our school deserves to win this because although we try to keep everything up-to-date, we can not afford everything." Student at Alleghany HS, Sparta, NC

“To ensure industry standards are truly replicated, the automotive, collision and diesel technology programs are NATEF and AYES certified. Unfortunately, due to the cost of today’s high-tech equipment, the vast majority of CTC students are trained on obsolete equipment. However, NMTCC has entered into a unique industry partnership with Hunter Engineering. At no cost to NMTCC, Hunter has outfitted one of the automotive technology labs with every piece of high-tech equipment they manufacture, exposing our students to the same state-of-the-art equipment/technology they will utilize in the workplace.” B. Lacivita, Instructor at N. Montco Technical Career Center

If you’ve read all these comments, you’ll probably agree that we could all do more to help the future technicians of our industry.

I'm excited to see that some of the bigger names in our industry like Caterpillar and Hunter have stepped up to the plate and help out on a local level. And, on a local level, I would encourage you to reach out to the automotive, collision, and diesel educational facilities in your area and find out what more you can do to bring young people into our industry.

If you want to reach a broader market of young people, I would encourage you to consider becoming a co-sponsor of the Tomorrow's Technician School of the Year program. (Talk to your Babcox sales rep about it.)

Imagine what could be done for so many automotive students if a tool manufacturer, and a diagnostic company, a safetywear company, a lift company, a smoke detector - name it - if more tool and equipment companies could come together to support the future of our industry. The cost is not great, but the returns are immeasurable.


These students are the future of this business and deserve your attention.