Cedar Valley College celebrated the launch of a new partnership in October with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the National Coalition of Certification Centers that will benefit CVC automotive technology students. Celebrating the announcement are (left to right): Dr. Joseph Seabrooks, CVC president; Dr. Justin Lonon, executive vice chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District; and community members and representatives from FCA, NC3, CVC and local car dealerships.
Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Oct. 25, 2017
News brief
(DALLAS) — Cedar Valley College has announced a partnership to develop a much-needed pipeline of highly trained technicians to work in U.S. auto dealerships from students enrolled in its automotive technology program. CVC is working with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the National Coalition of Certification Centers to train approximately 1,000 students enrolled in community and technical colleges across the nation.
As a result of this partnership, CVC becomes the program’s 57th certified technical training site in the U.S. The initiative is an extension of FCA’s traditional Mopar CAP (Career Automotive Program) LOCAL program which began in 1984 and currently trains service technicians to work in Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram Truck dealerships.
“We are proud to be a part of this program and the tremendous benefits it will have for our automotive technology students,” said Dr. Joseph Seabrooks, president of Cedar Valley College. “By earning key, industry-recognized certifications while they are still attending college, our students will be better prepared to enter the workforce immediately as highly trained technicians who will find jobs that pay well at auto dealerships. It’s a win-win for everyone involved, including our students, Cedar Valley College and our partners in the auto industry.”
“Together with our partner, NC3, we are making great progress expanding our geographic footprint for training sites by identifying and certifying colleges nationwide that have highly qualified automotive programs,” said John Fox, director of dealer training at FCA US LLC.
FCA US projects that the automotive industry will need to fill more than 5,500 service technician positions by next year and is seeking more than 100 colleges to participate in this program by the end of 2018.
“NC3 couldn’t be more pleased with the successful local partnerships that are forming between FCA US and NC3 leadership schools,” said Roger Tadajewski, executive director of NC3. “With 30 schools launched in the first year and more than 9,500 Level 0 and Level 1 training modules already completed, the pipeline of technician talent to local dealerships is well under way across the nation.”
CVC has been ramping up its ability to serve as a certification center for the auto industry. The college announced earlier this month that it had become a technical certification center for Snap-On Tools. That effort was supported by a Texas Workforce Commission $296,537 JET (Jobs and Education for Texans) grant to help the college purchase and install equipment that will provide 930 students with training for careers in the automotive services profession.
For more information, contact Henry Martinez, CVC director of marketing and public relations, at
hmartinez@dcccd.edu or at 972-860-8142.
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