Improving Automotive Technician Training Through a Flexible Industry Apprenticeship Program

对熟练的汽车技术人员的需求持续增长，为学生加入技术队伍提供了新的机会。随着汽车行业的技术创新持续快速增长，技术人员的教育需要跟上步伐。该项目将支持一个灵活的学徒计划的发展，学生将被行业合作伙伴同时雇用，并参加汽车技术项目。拟议的“挣与学”模式将让哥伦布州立社区学院和行业合作伙伴参与汽车技术人员的技术教育。该事业将支援在职人员的技能提升和高中学生的招募，以增加支援汽车产业的熟练技术人员。该项目的目标是通过体验式学生学习模式扩大行业参与，并通过与当地经销商和地区高中合作，满足行业对更多汽车技术人员的需求。该项目将实施与行业合作伙伴共同开发的汽车快速通道学徒计划。基于挣与学的模式设计，学徒计划将包括基础技术课程和现场经验。扩大招生的努力将集中在三个目标人群：高中生、哥伦布州立大学汽车专业的在校生和经销商的在职员工。将开设一个新的金融知识和专业发展讲习班，讨论诸如完成FAFSA、管理个人财务以及作为技术人员获取工具等主题。汽车技术实验室将升级，配备先进的诊断设备，这将有助于增加实验室的容量，以容纳更多的学生，并为学生提供使用最新技术的体验。该项目将使用机构数据、调查和学生访谈来评估该项目对学生和行业合作伙伴的影响。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Demand for skilled automotive technicians continues to grow, providing new opportunities for students to join the technical workforce. As technological innovations in the automotive industry continue to increase rapidly, the education of technicians needs to keep pace. This project will support the development of a flexible apprenticeship program in which students will be concurrently employed by an industry partner and enrolled in an automotive technology program. The proposed “earn and learn” model will engage Columbus State Community College and industry partners in the technical education of automotive technicians. The project will support the upskilling of incumbent workers and recruiting of high school students to increase the number of skilled technicians who can support the automotive industry.The goals of this project are to expand the participation of industry in an experiential student learning model and to meet industry’s demand for more automotive technicians by partnering with local dealerships and regional high schools. This project will implement an Automotive Fast Track Apprenticeship program that will be jointly developed with industry partners. Based on an earn and learn model design, the apprenticeship program will include foundational technical coursework and field experience. Outreach efforts to recruit students will focus on three target populations: high school students, current Columbus State students in the automotive program, and incumbent workers in jobs at dealerships. A new financial literacy and professional development workshop will be developed to address topics such as completing a FAFSA, managing personal finances, and acquiring tools as a technician. Automotive technology labs will be upgraded with advanced diagnostic equipment that will help increase the capacity of the labs to accommodate more students and provide students with experiences using the latest technology. The project will use institutional data, surveys, and student interviews to assess the impact of the project on students and industry partners. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced- technology fields that drive the nation’s economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.