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 →

The successful candidate for this full-time, tenure-track position will be responsible for teaching a full range of automotive courses which may include any or all ASE A-1 through A-8 areas of specialization, and to participate in the development of new courses.

The application deadline is January 15, 2020.

View the job description here

Cuyamaca College seeks talented, dedicated, and diverse candidates to apply for the Automotive Technology Instructor position who share the college’s vision focused on student success and equity. With a remarkably diverse student body, Cuyamaca especially seeks candidates with a record of successful teaching and mentoring of students of all backgrounds.

The application deadline is November 25, 2019.

Read more here

About 30 automotive technology and engineering design/drafting students from Rio Hondo College recently visited the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) as part of a partnership between the two organizations to showcase career opportunities in the ATL sector.

LA Metro is among the largest transportation agencies in the U.S., serving more than 9 million people over 1400 square miles. The agency serves as a hub for transportation planning, designing, building, and operations. Read More →

L-R: Eddie Lin, Ruth Amanuel, Michael de la Cruz, Katie Mishler and Judy Fox

By Katie Mishler, ATL Regional Director, Los Angeles Region

In August 2019 Regional Directors of Employer Engagement (RDEE) representing various priority sectors for the Los Angeles Region were offered the opportunity to take on a grant as part of a Career Pathways Specialists Project.

Those who chose to accept the grant would write a proposal to utilize the grant funds to develop K-12 programs and initiatives that would address the following objectives in the LA Region:

1. Provide industry perspective in identifying Career Pathways to be revised to meet industry needs.
2. Facilitate faculty experiences with business/industry to ensure Career Pathways prepare students for employment.
3. Identify employment opportunities and specific employers within
4. Conduct sector specific regional advisory

Upon being presented with the grant opportunity, Katie Mishler, RDEE Advanced Transportation & Logistics; Judy Fox, RDEE Business & Entrepreneurship; and Ruth Amanuel, RDEE Global Trade got together to brainstorm the possibilities. Because they had already been working collaboratively on projects in supply chain and logistics, the opportunity to now bring those common threads into a K-12 space would be a strategic advantage. Read More →

Valentino Nevarez (L) and Kevin Croan (R)

Two students from San Diego Miramar College traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this fall to participate in the American Trucking Association (ATA) and Truck Maintenance Council (TMC) Futuretech competition.

Valentino Nevarez placed 8th, and Kevon Croan placed 18th out of 48 contestants at the competition, held September 15-16. Nevarez served in the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years and is in the last semester of Miramar College’s Diesel Technology associate degree program. Read More →

ATL faculty are invited to attend a special train-the-trainer event all about vehicle electrification (VE). This 5-day training includes 32 one-hour modules of online VE training that needs to be completed prior to the hands-on training in January.

Topics include: Electronic Hardware Devices; HEV/PHEV/BEV Systems; High Voltage Electrical Safety, Tools and PPE; High Voltage Vehicle Safety Systems; High Voltage Battery Systems; Power Inverter Operation and Testing; Motor-Generator Sensing Systems; High Voltage (Cabin & Battery Pack) Heating/Cooling; DC-DC Converter Systems; testing and analysis

When: January 2-6, 2020
Where: Victor Valley College
Cost: Approximately $2,000

Registration includes:

• 5-day Hands-on Training
• 32 hours of online training
• Hardware Kit
• USB containing digital course material (PDF)

About the Instructor:

Dr. Mark Quarto has a 32 year solid and diverse background in Vehicle Electrification, within the areas of engineering, product and software design, author, technical training & curriculum development, technical support and more. He has served as a Chief Technical Officer (CTO), VE Consultant, and Subject Matter Expert (SME) for several organizations supporting auto educators, various aftermarket businesses and OEMs.

To register, contact Steven Coultas at steven.coultas@vvc.edu or 760-245-4271 x2424

Kurt Shadbolt, Faculty at Chabot College’s BMW Program, conducting the Train-the-Trainer Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Training.

By Pam Gutman, ATL Regional Director, Bay Region

As part of the Strong Workforce Program’s (SWP), NextGen AutoTech, Regional Joint Venture (RJV) initiative for automotive in the Bay Area, Regional Director, Pam Gutman, organized and facilitated the third professional development training for automotive faculty on September 27-28, 2019.

The RJV has focused on exposing and training faculty to the new semi-autonomous and advanced electrical automotive technologies that are currently on the road today. Read More →