Community Leaders, Ford Motor Company and Kennedy-King College Partner In New Auto Training Center for At-Risk Young Adults
3 October 2000
Community Leaders, Ford Motor Company and Kennedy-King College Partner In New Auto Training Center for At-Risk Young Adults
* School Gets New Tools; Dealers Get Trained Technicians
* Ford Invests $500,000 in Chicago Training Facility
* Who Benefits? -- Both Students and Ford Dealers
* Automotive Technicians in Big Demand; 80,000 Shortfall
CHICAGO, Oct. 3 The Chicagoland Youth and Adult Training
Center (CYATC) -- a progressive educational initiative designed to train at-
risk young adults in automotive repair techniques of the 21st Century -- opens
today at Kennedy-King College with $500,000 in vehicles, equipment, facilities
improvement and funding from Ford Motor Company .
The CYATC is a unique collaborative effort among Ford Motor Company, the
New Cities Ministers Coalition, the Pastors Network, the Baptist Ministers
Conference of Chicago and Vicinity, Kennedy-King College, the Cook County
Juvenile Court Division, the Mayor's Office of Work Force Development (City of
Chicago), and the Metro Chicago Lincoln Mercury and Ford dealer associations.
"This unique partnership demonstrates how the private sector, faith-based
community organizations and the government can join together to achieve a win-
win result for everyone involved -- including students, the City of Chicago,
our dealers and Ford," said Mike Jordan, president, Ford Automotive Consumer
Services Group. "Not only does Kennedy-King get state-of-the-art Ford
diagnostic equipment and tools that students can use for training, our
Chicago-area Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers get a stream of well-trained
prospective employees to meet the demand for entry-level service technicians."
A study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that, since 1989, more
than 15,000 trained technicians have been retiring annually. This has
contributed to an estimated shortage of 80,000 trained automotive technicians.
In creating the partnership, Ford Motor Company provided more than
$500,000 in funding for the program, including $200,000 in cash, $150,000 in
vehicles, $100,000 in tools and equipment, $50,000 in components and $10,000
in facility improvements. The New Cities Ministers Coalition assists in
administering the program and works with other faith-based organizations and
the Cook County Juvenile Court System on student recruitment. Kennedy-King
College provides the site location, curriculum development and instruction.
"We are excited about this partnership because it underscores Kennedy-King
College's commitment to provide education and job training opportunities for
all members of our community, including those young people labeled as 'at
risk'," said Kennedy-King College Interim President Wellington Wilson.
"We believe education is the key to realizing full human potential and for
encouraging individuals to make productive life choices."
During the 12-month program, students will be trained in a simulated
quick-repair classroom environment, being taught such things as the repair of
brake, electrical, suspension and climate control systems, as well as basic
maintenance, like oil changes. Students also will receive specialized
tutoring and life skills training from the Cook County Juvenile Court System's
Jump Start program.
"These young people have found themselves in circumstances beyond their
control," said Reverend Henry Barlow, CYATC co-founder and president of the
New Cities Ministers Coalition. "I'm glad we were able to bring the community
together to give inner-city youth a second chance and, in some cases, a third
chance at life."
"We're trying to give these young people the opportunity to have a career,
not just a job," said Tom Hawkes, CYATC co-founder and president of Hawk
Lincoln Mercury in Oaklawn, Illinois. "After completing this program, we want
them to be able to hold their heads up in their community and feel proud."
The training center is modeled after a new service concept called "Quick
Lane," being implemented at Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships across the
United States. A "Quick Lane" offers fast, no-appointment service and
maintenance while the customer waits. The training facility is designed to
look like a "Quick Lane," right down to the logos on the wall and the write-up
desk.
As part of the program, participating Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships
will reinforce classroom curricula through on-site job shadowing and paid co-
op work programs. After training, graduates will have the opportunity to work
at a dealership as a maintenance and light repair technician.
Kennedy-King graduates receive college credits, a certificate of
completion and about 40 percent of the Ford technical training credentials
needed to be fully certified. Graduates can continue their education while on
the job to become fully certified Ford service techs.
In addition, each year Ford Motor Company will award the top student at
Kennedy-King a fully paid two-year scholarship to any one of the 61 colleges
across the country that are part of the Ford ASSET Program.
ASSET -- which stands for Automotive Student Service Educational Training
-- is a two-year curriculum during which students alternate between classroom
studies and work at their sponsoring dealerships. Courses range from
mathematics and physics to computer studies and critical thinking, in addition
to automotive subjects specific to Ford products. Students who complete the
program can receive an associate's degree in automotive technology, making
them fully certified and qualified to handle high-level diagnosis and repair.
The Chicagoland Youth and Adult Training Center is located in the
Automotive Technology Center at Kennedy-King College.