HOUSTON – They don’t call them “mechanics” anymore. The term now is “automotive technician” and the best trained and most skilled make a very handsome living.
At Monument Chevrolet, they know right where to look for top talent: San Jacinto College.
“Without a doubt some of the best in the country,” said Danny Barnett, Monument Chevrolet’s service manager.
And what has long been a great program is about to get even better with the opening of a $21 million transportation training center.
“This is a high-tech structure, leading to a high-tech education, leading to high wages. That’s really what we are about,” said Steven Horton, Dean of Technical Education at SJC.
No fewer than 9 major auto makers are fully on board and with good reason.
“Each manufacturer has an exclusive bay whether it be General Motors, whether it be Ford, Honda or Toyota,” Horton said.
Each of the custom-designed bays is fully supplied with components provided by the auto makers, everything from engines to electrical systems.
Outside, manufacturers have provided a literal fleet of vehicles purely for learning.
Horton says SJC’s goal is to make the workshop and the classroom one in the same.
“We can transcend right into the laboratory, no wasted time what so ever and be able to see that lesson physically on a vehicle,” he said.
“San Jac’s” transportation center will attract professionals from across the nation seeking updated training and master certifications.
Students who complete the 2-year program will be Automotive Service Excellence certified and all but guaranteed gainful employment.
“Most of our students will literally walk across the stage, shake our president’s hand and have a job waiting on them Monday morning,” Horton predicted.
He retires next week after decades of devoted service to SJC. Seeing the nation’s finest automotive training center come to completion is, for him, a deeply emotional matter.
“I believe we are here to make a difference in the lives of the students we serve,” he said.
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