automotive career The road to an
Collin College’s automotive and collision technology programs, which launched in 2020, prepares students for a career in the automotive industry.
asked for something better.” The TTEN program provides another opportunity at Collin Col- lege’s technical campus that has grown steadily since opening in Allen in 2020. The campus oers programs that fall under architecture and construc- tion, engineering technology, health sciences, nursing, automotive technol- ogy, and more. “It’s called the technical campus, but it’s much more than just technical coursework,” Mesch said. “No one ever comes here, does a tour and says, ‘I’ve seen something like this before.’” Mesch said the campus has around 2,200 students enrolled for the spring, but still has plenty of room to grow, especially with more enrollment for classes in the mornings and afternoons. He said the TTEN program is another step toward that growth. “There’s a long-term trajectory,” Mesch said. “[The TTEN program] is a great example of a community college working with an industry to provide graduates with knowledge, skills and abilities, while creating a really seam- less pathway for a future career.” PROGRAM PERKS When the Technician Training & Education Network, or T-TEN program, launches this fall, it will deliver hands-on Toyota and Lexus certied technician training to students in the automotive programs. Other perks include: • Multiple certicate and associate degree options as well as technician training certication for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence • Technician training certications for Toyota and Lexus • 20 or 25 Toyota and Lexus vehicles provided for students to work on
• Electrical systems • Engine repair • Electrical diagnosis • Performance analysis
Automotive technology curriculum Collision technology curriculum
• Suspension and steering systems • Drive train and axles
Auto body mechanical and electrical services
• Vehicle trim and hardware • Basic renishing • Nonstructural metal repair • Current trends • Collision repair welding, • Major collision repair
• Transmission and transaxle • Hybrid or electrical vehicles • Climate control systems • Structural analysis
SOURCES: COLLIN COLLEGE, TOYOTACOMMUNITY IMPACT
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Toyota vehicles, something TTEN Pro- gram Manager Joe Myers said sets the program apart. “We get very specic in what the current technology is coming into the dealership,” he said. “When a student is being trained on the very vehicle that’s rolling through the door at that dealer- ship, that makes them job-ready.” As the program rolls out, Collin Col- lege will have 20-25 vehicles on loca- tion for training at any given time, according to Mesch. He also said the college will be adding more lifts to max out its facility. One of the TTEN program’s biggest perks is that it attempts to pair students with a dealership for employment “on day one,” according to Myers. That is a perk for the dealerships as well, as demand for automative technicians is expected to continue rising, according the Texas Workforce Commission.
The commission estimates employ- ment of automotive technicians will rise by more than 12% from 2020 to around 17,720 jobs in 2030. As part of its eorts to help ll that need, Collin College has previously partnered with Honda, Mercedes and Ford. The school also has a pre-existing relationship with Toyota for its Tech- nical Education College Support Elite program. Mesch said those programs provided “relatively light resources” compared to the TTEN program, which he called a “pinnacle.” “It’s a group of community col- lege and technical campus locations throughout the country that collabo- rate and develop curriculum together,” he said. Only 38 schools across the coun- try oer the TTEN program, accord- ing to the program’s website. That is partly due to the cost, and Myers said
the program is around a $750,000 investment for Toyota this year, with “ongoing commitments,” along with a signicant investment from the school. But all of the aspects lined up for the program to launch at Collin College, according to Myers. Toyota started building a relation- ship with the school when it moved its national headquarters to Plano in 2014. When Toyota was looking for more opportunities in the area, Myers called partnering with Collin College a “no-brainer.” “This area is growing very rapidly, and in order to stay ahead of—or even just stay current with—the need, it required us to look at more opportuni- ties in this area,” Myers said. “I wouldn’t say that being neighbors with Collin College made the dierence, but with the quality of the institution, it being close to our headquarters and meeting this need in the area, we couldn’t have
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