EDUCATION Toyota partnership gives Collin College unique opportunity
Collin College’s automotive and collision technology programs, which launched in 2020, prepare students for a career in the automotive industry. AUTOMOTIVE CAREER Automotive technology curriculum Collision technology curriculum The road to an
BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
Ford. The school also has a pre-exist- ing relationship with Toyota for its Technical Education College Support Elite program. Mesch said those programs pro- vided “relatively light resources” compared to the T-TEN program, which he called a “pinnacle.” “It’s a group of community col- lege and technical campus locations throughout the country that col- laborate and develop curriculum together,” he said. Only 38 schools across the coun- try offer the T-TEN 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 significant investment from the school. But all of the aspects lined up for the program to launch at Collin Col- lege, 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 oppor- tunities in this area,” Myers said. “I wouldn’t say that being neighbors with Collin College made the dif- ference, but with the quality of the institution, it being close to our head- quarters and meeting this need in the area, we couldn’t have asked for something better.” The T-TEN program provides another opportunity at Collin College’s technical campus that has grown steadily since opening in Allen in 2020. The campus offers programs that fall under architecture and construc- tion, engineering technology, health sciences, nursing, automotive tech- nology, and more. “It’s called the technical campus, but it’s much more than just techni- cal coursework,” Mesch said. “No one ever comes here, does a tour and says, ‘I’ve seen something like this before.’”
As Collin College’s technical cam- pus in Allen continues to grow, a new partnership with Toyota will offer stu- dents the chance to get into the auto- motive technician profession. School officials announced in Feb- ruary the campus would be offering Toyota’s Technician Training & Edu- cation Network, or T-TEN, program to serve as a fast track for students look- ing to work as technicians in Toyota or Lexus dealerships. The program will launch in fall of 2023. Brenden Mesch, Collin College Technical College provost, said hav- ing the program in the county is very prestigious. “It’s considered the Harvard of these [programs],” Mesch said. “It’s a great opportunity for students, because in the T-TEN world, all the students that are going to school are also working in a dealership.” The program focuses on training students on technology in the latest Toyota vehicles, something T-TEN Program Manager Joe Myers said sets the program apart. “We get very specific 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 dealership, 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 T-TEN 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 automotive 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 efforts to help fill that need, Collin College has previously partnered with Honda, Mercedes and
• Electrical systems • Engine repair • Electrical diagnosis • Performance analysis
• Suspension and steering systems • Drive train and axles
Auto body mechanical and electrical services
• Transmission and transaxle • Hybrid or electrical vehicles
• Climate control systems • Structural analysis
• Vehicle trim and hardware • Basic refinishing • Nonstructural metal repair • Current trends • Collision repair welding • Major collision repair
TECHNICIAN TRAINING
The T-TEN program will train Collin College students on the latest Toyota technology.
24
$750K 10
students in program’s first year
dealerships within 25 miles of campus
162
first-year investment from Toyota
auto tech jobs listed in Collin County*
PROGRAM PERKS
When the Technician Training & Education Network, or T‑TEN program, launches this fall, it will deliver hands-on Toyota and Lexus certified technician training to students in the automotive programs. Other perks include: • Multiple certificate and associate degree options as well as technician training certification for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence • Technician training certifications for Toyota and Lexus • 20 or 25 Toyota and Lexus vehicles provided for students to work on
Collin College Technical Campus 2550 Bending Branch Way, Allen 972-553-1290 www.collin.edu/campuses/technical
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*FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 2023 SOURCES: COLLIN COLLEGE, TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, TOYOTA/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Mesch said the campus has around 2,200 students enrolled for the spring, but still has plenty of room to grow, especially with more enroll- ment for classes in the mornings and afternoons. He said the T-TEN program is another step toward that growth.
“There’s a long-term trajectory,” Mesch said. “[The T-TEN 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 seamless pathway for a future career.”
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FRISCO EDITION • JUNE 2023
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