Building on a longstanding partnership, two Los Angeles-area community colleges received grants from the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association (GLANCDA) to support student work on electric vehicles.

GLANCDA awarded $10,000 each to the automotive programs at Compton College and East Los Angeles College. The funds will be used for new and innovative student projects, with an emphasis on electric vehicle technology.

The grants are another step in the organization’s relationship with community colleges in the Los Angeles region. The organization regularly holds recruiting events and its members are part of the colleges’ industry advisory boards.

Adrian Banuelos, automotive instructor at East Los Angeles College, said GLANCDA dealerships also help support hands-on learning.

“Dealerships have donated used engines, transmissions, and a couple of used vehicles for our students to work on,” Banuelos said. “Many new car dealers have provided internships for our students.”  

For more information on GLANCDA, visit glancda.org/.

In order to serve students effectively and continue growing, community colleges need a steady pipeline of instructors.

Katie Mishler, ATL Regional Director for Los Angeles, recognized this need and organized a series of workshops to give automotive professionals the skills, structure, and confidence to deliver not-for-credit ATL instruction at Long Beach City College and Cerritos College. Read More →

Victor Valley College began the new year with a five-day training on hybrid and electric vehicles for nearly a dozen high school and community college instructors.

The training was held at Victor Valley College January 2-6 and included a mix of online, classroom and hands-on instruction to help instructors build on their existing skillsets and work effectively with their students in the coming year.

“As most instructors are previous technicians with electrical (not electronics) training and experience, this training allowed us to gain an understanding of the complicated control systems involved in alternative propulsion vehicles,” said Steven Coultas, the event’s organizer and an automotive instructor at Victor Valley College.

Read More →

After spending the past year in Orange County, Larry McLaughlin is back in the Inland Empire/Desert Region as the ATL Regional Director.

He hopes to bring a focus on clean energy and carbon reduction to sector-related programs in the region.

McLaughlin returned to the Inland Empire Region because he felt he could make the most impact in the transportation and logistics sector and build on the momentum being generated around alternative-fuel vehicles of all types. Doing so can benefit community college students by giving them that edge in the job market and, in the process, help mitigate problems associated with climate change. Read More →

Watch the highlight video here.

More than 700 people attended the 2019 Orange County Counselor Symposium in November.

The event is the result of a fruitful partnership between the Orange County Department of Education and the Los Angeles/Orange County Regional Consortium of Community Colleges.

The goal is to provide professional development for all types of counselors, from K-12 through college and school-based mental health professionals. Read More →

Photo courtesy of Victor Valley College

The second annual Victor Valley College High School Automotive Technician Competition held in November was received with much enthusiasm from local students and teachers.

Seven schools were represented by student technician teams — two of which were all-girl — competing in various stations and being scored by volunteer VVC auto students.

“I’m glad we’re here because it’s really preparation for the future,” said Shaun Kittrell, automotive instructor for Silver Valley High School. “We spent an hour yesterday (preparing), which helped a lot. It’s a great experience for them.”

Originally published by Victor Valley College, link to original article here.

Photo courtesy of Golden West College

An Alternative Pathway to an Automotive Education

With the automotive program at Santa Ana College at capacity and frequently with a waiting list, Golden West College offers high school students an alternative pathway to an automotive education and opened its facilities to 35 students from Valley High School on December 6.

Golden West College is located less than 10 miles from Valley High School and the schools already have an articulation agreement in place. The Automotive Technology Pathway Day was designed to show students the opportunities available to them through hands-on demonstrations, a financial aid workshop, and industry updates. Read More →