Work, learn, and earn
Chariot Automotive Group, Ivy Tech partner on automotive technology education pathway.
This article is brought to you by Turning Point - System of Care. Turning Point is excited about its partnership with Indiana Wesleyan University with the launch of the Mobile Career Lab! The Career Lab helps people consider opportunities for enhancing their education and job prospects. The lab will be able to help those in recovery through Turning Point's Recovery Cafè and Pick Yourself Up programs. It's truly about supporting recovery and helping individuals create their best life!
Automotive technicians are in high demand, not just locally, but across the nation. As cars and trucks become more complex and computerized, there is a greater need for men and women who know how to repair and maintain them.
It is a problem that acutely affects the four dealerships in Chariot Automotive Group, but the organization didn’t wait for the next generation of technicians to search them out. They are creating their own with the help of Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo.
The two entities formed the Automotive Technician Education Pathway (ATEP), reaching out to students while they are still in high school and offering college credit and hands-on training. The program launched this year to a warm reception.
“It's basically a career education program for juniors and seniors in high school, in automotive services technology,” said James Woolf, Workforce Development Specialist at Chariot Automotive Institute. “We're starting them out a half a day with us at our dealership in Academy down in Tipton with a very robust education program, partnered with Ivy Tech.”
“(During) the two years they're in our program, they're going to be working on an automotive Associate's degree, (earning) Ivy Tech course credits. And embedded in that will be certifications; Mopar certifications, ASE certifications, CPR, OSHA, all those kinds of things.”
According to Jim Bonham, Ivy Tech Kokomo’s Chair for Automotive Technology, the goal is to train students to become automotive technicians with industry-recognized certifications.
“Our students will earn Zero Level and Level One training through the Mopar Career Automotive Program,” Bonham said. “They'll also come out with certifications and shop environmental and safety certifications, as well as Snap-On tool and equipment certifications.
“Students will learn how to use tools and equipment properly. Even if the dealership doesn't have a piece of Snap-On equipment, they may have another brand. The students will be familiarized with how the equipment works and be able to use it.”
Woolf explained that the program focuses on work-based learning. During the three hours the students spend at Academy each day, they receive an hour of classroom instruction from a certified Ivy Tech instructor and two hours of “lab” work; hands-on experience in the shop. They’ll learn to change brakes, oil, lube, and many other necessary skills.
At the end of the two-year course, they will be ready to enter the job market with an array of certifications. Or, they can continue their education at Ivy Tech to obtain a degree. Naturally, Chariot Auto Group hopes that many of the students will choose to work for them.
“We're trying to grow our own, so to speak,” said Woolf. We have four dealerships around Tipton and Howard counties that will be able to offer them positions. Hopefully, the lion's share of them we will be able to retain. And then we'll put them back into the educational mode and finish that Associate’s degree with Ivy Tech at our expense.”
Chariot began a version of the program in 2014, working with Stellantis (then FCA) to get students into the manufacturing plants to learn similar skills. While Ivy Tech credit wasn’t available while the students were in high school, the college obtained a grant from the federal government to educate them after high school.
Then COVID hit, and the program died. Chariot CEO Rex Gingerich was still committed to workforce development training, and tasked Woolf with restarting the program. He found a strong desire in the area high schools for what he was offering.
“There was a desperate need for these students to get into the industry,” said Woolf. “Our vocational and CTE (Career and Technical Education) centers do a great job of educating, like the Kokomo Career Center, where you can get a great education. What we thought was lacking was that connection with industry. That's what these students are craving. They want to get their hands in there and do it. Bringing them to our facility so they could see our people, learn our culture, that's what we're doing.”
Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Chancellor Ethan Heicher confirmed that the program arose from Chariot’s recognized need for automotive technicians.
“We see a lot of service techs moving from employer to employer because there are just not enough workers to just serve the employer and community needs in that space,” said Heicher. “As many of our employer partners have done over the past 10 years, Chariot is participating in pipeline development for the talent that will eventually be employees at that at their locations.”
It took two years to redevelop the program, and the initial response was strong. Now in its first year, 27 students have signed up for the class. They began their training Aug. 21.
Parker Gerig is a student at Noblesville High School and is in the Chariot/Ivy Tech program. He grew up around cars, learning at the side of his father and grandfather. When he heard about the classes, he knew it was a good opportunity for him.
“It's more learning than you would think it would be,” said Gerig. “Because cars keep getting updated, technicians have to keep learning. I didn't know there was so much like learning in it, and so many (resources) that can help you.
“I learn when I can see things and move them around. You can share this slideshow, and I’ll kind of understand it. But if we go out in the shop where you can actually see how it works, it definitely helps in the process of learning and remembering.”
Heicher explained that the apprentice educational pathway is a model Ivy Tech uses in partnership with several businesses and trade unions, and he is convinced it is one of the best ways to educate a student for a vocation.
“The apprenticeship model is work, learn, and earn,” said Heicher. “Students have experience of on-the-job training, as well as an educational pathway. And they are earning wages for their work as they as they progress along their apprenticeship pathway. Their wage level increases along with their skill level.
“it is the premier educational model, where you have employer, student, and educational partner all engaged with that student’s experience. Retention is really high in those apprenticeship programs. Completion rates are really high. And educational outcomes are exactly where they need to be because we line up so well with our employer partners.”
Every high school in Howard, Tipton, and Hamilton counties are eligible to participate in the program, but in the first class, the majority of students hail from Hamilton County. A few are from Tipton, but there are no Howard County students in the program this year. Woolf attributed that to the Kokomo Area Career Center programming that meets the needs of students locally.
“We didn't really want to infringe upon them,” said Woolf. “We let it be known that we were doing this, but we didn't heavily recruit in Howard County. Hopefully, as we start recruiting for next spring, we can get Howard County students.”
For those interested in the Chariot/Ivy Tech program, Woolf suggested that they simply contact one of Chariot’s dealerships and mention their interest in ATEP. They will connect the prospective students and their families with information and tours to give an overview of the program.