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Klaus Ulkann, VP, & Geoff Day,
Dir. of Communications of Mercedes-Benz |
Mercedes-Benz
Launches First Lab at Automotive High School
By Liza Young
The progress of the automotive
industry depends on the developments and insights of major
corporations, but to ensure continued success, the seeds of
growth in the industry must be planted at the educational level,
and as early as possible within the educational system. This
is especially true today due to the shortage of technicians
in the field and the rapid advancement of technology reaching
the design model of cars, with the installation of computer
chips in vehicles.
The people at Mercedes-Benz
are fully aware of the importance of a comprehensive education
in the field of car mechanics to the future of the industry
as evidenced by the establishment in 1998 of the Technician
Training Program called Elite and recently by the opening of
its first lab in an auto school, specifically at the Automotive
High School in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In addition to the creation
of the lab being a key resource for the future growth of their
company, especially with today’s shortage of auto technicians,
it is a very exciting prospect for educators and students.
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(L-R)
Lesia Koropey, Corporate Communications, Mercedes-Benz & Iris
Blanc, Director, Virtual Enterprises, DOE |
Mercedes
wisely chose to collaborate with Automotive High School in
the launching of the new lab, as the school is one of the only
institutions in the United States that provides a comprehensive
automotive education at the level of high school. Graduates
of the school are eligible for Certificates of Employability,
essentially a guarantee of the students’ preparation
in the field. Additionally, the programs at the school are
in accordance with NATEF, the National Automotive Technicians
Education Foundation. Also, students at the school have the
opportunity for real world experience, having had, for example,
collaboration in the past with Toyota.
Upon visiting the school,
it is quite evident that teachers are highly competent in the
field in addition to being caring and warm-hearted. The staff
is composed of fine instructors such as Thomas Cassino, who
was awarded in 2004 with an outstanding career tech award from
the United Federation of Teachers. Students at the school are
clearly enthusiastic about the program and are of course very
excited by the recent opening of the lab. “This is a
fun, exciting learning experience. It’s a great experience
and of course its nice to see the luxury cars,” stated
a junior year student, Travis Wilson.
With the opening of the lab,
students will have the opportunity to work with first-rate
cars, which have such innovations as a turning signal which
has a dimming feature so as not to blind oncoming traffic.
Students will also have the incredible opportunity of working
with the Mercedes Benz sedan, where students will convert the
diesel fuel system that it currently runs on into a fuel system
derived from vegetable based cooking oil.
Collaborations between major
auto companies and specialized auto schools are fundamental
to students interested in pursuing a career in the auto industry.
Students have the opportunity for an early start in a field
which is interesting and rewarding. According to Wayne Hays,
Supervisor, Training Aid Design Production, students who complete
the program at the Automotive High School, with subsequent
additional training at the 16-week program at Elite, have a
96 percent placement rate at a dealership. Mr. Hays described
the career as rewarding with the opportunity for upward mobility
and an expected salary rate, after completing the five-year
training program, in the range of $60,000.
Other schools offering
career and technical education in the area of automotive
education are William E. Grady High School (Brooklyn), Thomas
Edison Career & Technical HS (Queens),
Tottenville HS (Staten Island), and Alfred E. Smith HS (Bronx).#
