NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
ADVANCED AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN PROGRAM CREATEDHarrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that an Advanced Automotive Technician Career Program has been started in the Harrisburg School District’s Career and Technology Academy, based at the William Penn Campus. In addition to in-house support provided by the school district, the Program is made possible by a just-approved $95,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Labor and $121,000 in wages, cars, equipment and tools from the Pennsylvania Automotive Association, which represents the 1,100 car dealerships across the state. Reed said the Program will provide career training and guaranteed job opportunities in high-paying work for city students who successfully complete the Program. Assistant Secretary Emily Stover DeRocco of the U.S. Dept. of Labor was in Harrisburg today to formally present the federal grant check. Reed said the sophistication of today’s automobiles requires far higher skill levels for automotive technicians than 10 or 25 years ago. The average car now has over five miles of electrical wiring and computer components more sophisticated than those used by NASA to put a man on the moon. In Pennsylvania alone the automotive industry translates into a $31 billion industry. The industry has a critical shortage of highly-skilled automotive technicians, which is why the new program in Harrisburg is considered a high priority. It is estimated that at least 34,000 new technicians will be needed to meet rising demand and to replace retiring workforce members across the country. There are over 818,000 automotive technicians and mechanics working today. Reed said participating Harrisburg students will be in the 11th and 12th grade levels. In addition to classroom training, they will work as apprentices in car dealerships under direct training supervision and students will be paid for their work there. Students will get a complete tool box that they keep as part of their Program work. Once completed with their high school level training, each student can go to Harrisburg Area Community College to attain an Associate’s Degree. The demand for advanced skilled technicians is so great that every Program graduate is essentially assured of full-time employment “and these are lifetime good paying career jobs, too,” Reed said. The Career and Technology Academy, once known as the VoTech School, has been undergoing extensive upgrade in curriculum, equipment, training and re-focusing. Its aim is to teach students in the latest skills needed in the regional workforce in high paying career posts. “Long gone are the days when the expec-tation of students was to get a minimum wage job. Harrisburg students are fully capable of achieving well in all the high end careers and there is now a full thrust to assure the educational system here assures the training and opportunities to make this happen,” the Mayor said. “Like the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology now being established, the Harrisburg School District is assessing workforce development needs of this region and gearing its training and instruction to prepare students for good jobs that will exist in coming days and for which there is a clear demand for additional qualified applicants,” Reed stated. XXX |
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