ACDelco Joins Forces With Pennsylvania College To Address Automotive Technician Shortage

LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa.- The increasing complexity of automobile technology is rising in proportion to the shortage of technicians properly trained to diagnose and repair vehicles. This alarming state of affairs could result in a future in which auto owners need to schedule service appointments for their vehicles weeks or even months in advance.

Fortunately, ACDelco is working to help ensure such a future never happens through its ACDelco Service Training centers across the United States. For the past year, ACDelco has sponsored one of its Service Training centers in the automotive department at Luzerne County Community College (LCCC), Nanticoke, Pa.. LCCC students participating in the ACDelco Total Service Support (TSS) program receive up-to-date training in the latest automotive technologies free of charge.

"I have been an automotive technician for more than 30 years," said Gary Mitchell, Eastern Regional Training Instructor, LCCC. "When I needed training, I had to travel out of the area to get it. Now it's right in our backyard. Our students are technicians who repair cars for a living right here in the Wyoming Valley."

LCCC offers a two-year associate's degree and placement program that assists students in finding full-time employment upon graduation. Through its TSS program, ACDelco contributes to the LCCC automotive department through donations of automotive diagnostic equipment, training materials and a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix.

"I think it's great we can work together to help supply books and tools to grow new technicians for an ever growing market," Mitchell said. "We are badly in need of technicians."

ACDelco is a global leader in automotive replacement parts and services offering products for virtually all vehicles. ACDelco is headquartered in Grand Blanc, Mich., and markets automotive replacement parts worldwide under its brand name.