Technology driving auto-mechanic careers

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca



With the rapid advance of technology inside today’s vehicles, auto-mechanics educators strive to keep up with the manufacturers. The multi-billion-dollar industry often leaves government-funded programs in the dust.

But a recently-forged relationship between the West Island Career Centre (WICC) and General Motors Canada has propelled the province’s largest English auto mechanics vocational program to the front of the pack, according to curriculum leader Umberto Cinelli.

St. Laurent’s Parkway Pontiac Buick GMC recently lent a pair of 2007 cars to WICC for a two-day course to bring the school’s teachers up to speed on the industry’s latest technology. GM instructor Randy Scott led the sessions.

“I saw there was a detachment between the industry and the school system,� Cinelli told The Chronicle inside one of the centre’s seven large shops. “We have to keep up to date to give (students) the best possible education so when they enter the workforce they’re more prepared.�

The partnership means teachers will undergo training four days a year to learn the latest advancements, which they can pass along to pupils, he said.

For years, GM has donated vehicles to Pierrefonds’ WICC, Cinelli said. As electronics and computers operate more and more vehicles, he expects the collaboration to take the program’s relevancy one step further.

With recent technological developments, mechanics should now be called “auto technicians,� he said.

“Auto mechanics is no longer a grease monkey job,� said WICC director Glen Colwell. “If we don’t work with the industry we’re going to find ourselves falling farther behind.�

Colwell said the auto mechanics program’s enrolment has grown over the last three years. The waiting list currently holds 100 names, so he hopes to expand the centre’s facilities to accommodate the surge.

“Our graduates are all over the West Island,� Colwell said. “You can hardly go to any garage without finding one. I’m very proud of the program we have here.�

Pupils are lured to WICC, which shares the same building as Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School, from as far away as Chibougamau, Que., Colwell said.

The 1,800-hour WICC automobile mechanics program (which lasts about 15 months) currently has 150 students, he said.

Parkway’s director of sales and leasing was pleased to link up with WICC. He said local garages and dealerships need mechanics.

“In this industry we’re lacking that skilled, hands-on manpower,� Frank Filice said. “It’s becoming a lost art to work on an automobile and we’re going to need some mechanics done the road. The technology has changed dramatically over the years.�

For more information about the program, call 514-620-0707.