If you want to stump today’s students training as the next generation of automotive technicians, simply ask them what a carburetor is. However, if you are curious on how to convert the number 13 into binary, it will only take a few seconds for the same student to return 1101 as your solution.
“The traditional mechanic is being phased out,” says Matthew White, department head for Savannah Technical College’s Automotive Technology Program. “Guys start this program thinking they are going to turn wrenches. But the reality is, when you are a professional, you spend at least half of your time on a computer … and not turning wrenches.”
Students seeking a degree in automotive technology at Savannah Tech are not only learning how to rebuild transmissions. As part of their course load, these students also endure several classes focused on mathematical modeling and computer concepts.
“We have to teach electrical, computer engineering, heating and air-conditioning principles and turning wrenches,” White said.
“When you look at a top-of-the-line BMW or Mercedes and they are getting up to 90 or 100 computers and their six communication networks, you have to be a computer engineer to solve network problems.”
Equipment upgrade
When White took over as the program’s department head two-and-a-half years ago, he noticed many of the program’s tools and diagnostic systems were more than a decade old and began making plans to upgrade equipment.
In 2011, the United States Department of Education, using Title III funds for predominantly black institutions, awarded Savannah Tech a $1.25 million grant paid out over five years in $250,000 allotments. The grant allowed White’s department and the college to purchase new learning materials, including a 3-D imaging projector that allows students to simulate vehicle repairs.
With this year’s allotment, the college bought a Chevy Volt and launched a new course offering this summer focused on training students to work on alternatively fueled electric and hybrid-model vehicles.
Students working toward an associate’s degree in automotive technology can obtain six specialty certifications as part of their training.
The automotive alternative fuel technology course is offered primarily as an elective option for students, but White said he is working on a plan that will allow the program to begin awarding students an alternative-fueled vehicle certification as well.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 17 percent job growth in the automotive repair industry through the end of the decade.
Combine the increase in vehicles that rely on several on-board computers with the rise in popularity of hybrid and electric-powered vehicles and it explains why today’s automotive technician requires a different skill-set than the traditional “shade tree mechanic” of the past.
Promising career
White said graduates who have a strong knowledge of the inner workings of theses new complicated vehicles along with the skill-set to repair them will be able to “write their own ticket” in the labor force.
“There is going to be a lot of old technicians leaving the business because there is a lot to learn on these, and these young guys coming in are really going to be in demand because they are going to have computer skills,” White said. “They are going to know about communication networks and how to solve electronic problems as opposed to just changing a timing belt.”
James Drayton is one of three students enrolled in the alternative-fuels pilot course and says he is interested in learning how to work on electric and hybrid vehicles as a way to set him apart from his peers.
“(These vehicles are) the future,” he said. “Just like being a doctor, you got to keep learning. If you want to stay employed and be competitive in the future, it’s something you have to get a grasp of.”
White said an attitude like Drayton’s is important for students to maintain in their professional careers because the industry is changing rapidly.
“The next generations are going to be basically like fighter jets on wheels,” he said. They’re really, really high-tech stuff.”
White said he is constantly bombarded with calls seeking qualified vehicle technicians.
“We finish up seven or eight guys a semester and they go to work, but there is demand for more and it is only going to go up in the future.”