It was just a small ad, Auto Technology Teachers, placed by WANADA in last Sundayês Washington Post, but is was a big first step in a comprehensive new initiative by the Strategic Leadership Team for the WANADA Automotive Technician Training Program at Montgomery College to significantly strengthen and expand the program.
Formed last summer, the Strategic Leadership Team is comprised of representatives of WANADA, Montgomery College, dealers, and several service directors. Together, they are developing a more formalized industry centric curriculum designed to meet the immediate needs of the workplace for both students and employers as well as have educator credibility.
George Payne, Montgomery College director of Workforce Development & Continuing Education, is coordinating the efforts of the team with the collegeês auto technology staff to assure that the WANADA program is given an increased formal operating presence in the Gudelsky Institute for Technical Education (GITE) and with Montgomery College.
WANADA and new automobile dealer membership played a key role in the initial phase of the Gudelsky Institute, and in concert with the college and Montgomery County government, created a state of the art automotive training center that exists there today. The industry’s initial interest and the ongoing engagement with educational programs attest to your commitment to automotive technician training, said Payne.
Attorney Larry Shulman, former chairman of the Maryland Board of Education and longtime advocate of technical training programs in the county, is helping facilitate the team and hosting its monthly meetings. Steve Boden, vice president of the Automotive Trades Foundation, is acting as advisor and helping coordinate the college efforts with Montgomery County Public School automotive programs.
The goal is to maximize automotive manufacturer and dealer involvement through WANADA with programs at Montgomery College that emulate the current WANADA Apprentice Training Program in which students are offered manufacturer specific education and on-the-job apprentice training in dealerships. This training dovetails with ASE technician certification in the eight areas of automotive education and training. The curriculum is under review for certification by the National Automotive Technical Education Foundation (NATEF), which WANADA is sponsoring.
For the future, the program will also seek greater visibility through periodic press releases, enhanced program promotion in course publications, website linkages, program marketing publications, and a presence at automotive trade shows.
This recommitment to meeting the technical training needs of the new automobile dealers is consistent with our founding principles of the Gudelsky Institute. We look forward to working with WANADA through the Strategic Leadership Team to achieve these goals, said Payne.
Leadership Team members include the following dealership executives and fixed operation managers: Harold Redden (chairman) of Fitzgerald Auto Malls, Tom Busche of Chevy Chase Cars, Frank Catalano of DARCARS, Paul Gerardi of Ourisman Chevrolet, Dave McFadden of Ourisman Automotive, John Newport of Chevy Chase Cars. Also on the team are WANADA Chairman Dennis Rippeon, Sam Weaver of Chevy Chase Cars, and former dealer Joe Herson.
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