Sixteen Fresno City College automotive students are enrolled in a program that offers the highest training standards. The college is one of eight new locations for Toyota’s T-TEN program, which recently launched the Technical Education College Support (TCES) program.
TCES partners with schools and organizations to offer students an opportunity to earn degrees and certificates that comply with both National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications and Toyota and Lexus technician training certifications.
Fresno City College Automotive Instructor Marty Kamimoto reports that two TCES students have already been hired by local dealerships Toyota of Clovis and Michael Toyota, and several more have obtained internships in the area.
“Now we are able to train the students on the same identical tools and equipment that the dealerships have and they’ll do their internships at Toyota, Lexus, and Scion dealers,” Kamimoto said. “As long as we have a partnership with the manufacturer, it just makes the transition a lot easier to go from school to work,” Kamimoto said.
Fresno City College sophomore Wyatt Jones is interning at Hedrick Chevrolet and appreciates the training he received before starting the internship.
“You can actually get your real-world application to see what it’s like outside of the classroom,” Jones told Fox 26 News. “You learn a lot in the classroom, but to be able to see how that’s applied in a real-life situation is very important.”
In addition to the on-the-job training, Fresno City College students are also able to utilize the JobSpeaker platform to optimize their job and internship searches. JobSpeaker allows students and employers to search within the platform to match open positions with interested candidates.
Fresno City College has also used a California Energy Commission grant to purchase new equipment, including OEM scan tools and OEM tools and equipment. Thanks to the funding and support from the Advanced Transportation & Logistics (ATL) sector, the college also updates its automotive curriculum to include several new courses on hybrid, electric, and alternative-fuel vehicles.
For more information about the automotive program at Fresno City College, visit: https://www.fresnocitycollege.edu/academics/divisions/applied-technology-division/automotive-technology.html.
