| FROM: Ann Houston, Communications and Marketing Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education 1500 W. Seventh Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074 Phone: 405-743-5112 Fax: 405-743-5541 e-mail:ahous@okcareertech.org |
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Gulf States Toyota is one of the many industries that provide strong, on-going support to Oklahoma’s CareerTech trade and industry programs and the related student organization, SkillsUSA-VICA. To create tomorrow’s best technicians, Toyota dealerships also partner with college automotive programs to offer the Toyota Technical Education Network, or T-TEN. Fred Archambo, Gulf States Toyota district service manager, presented six Toyota scholarship recipients with checks for $1,000 Gulf States Toyota (GST) T-TEN Scholarships at Oklahoma CareerTech’s 38th Annual SkillsUSA-VICA Leadership and Skills Championships held recently in Oklahoma City. The scholarships were awarded to the top three high school and post-secondary students in the Automotive Service Skills Competition, according to Archambo.
At the Annual SkillsUSA-VICA Leadership and Skills Championships more than 1,600 high school and adult students competed in 47 skilled trade events. SkillsUSA-VICA is sponsored by the Oklahoma’s CareerTech system. It is the student organization associated with trade and industrial education, and is one of seven student organizations supporting occupational areas. Toyota became an industry partner with OSU-Okmulgee in 1989. Since then, the company has made a significant contribution to student learning through funding for student support, donation of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, equipment and training aids. GST has also consistently provided technical personnel to support the competitive events for SkillsUSA-VICA. Now, GST is making a further investment in future technicians through scholarships for further education, according to Don Cole, technical capacity manager for Gulf States Toyota. The scholarships, which will be presented at the SkillsUSA-VICA awards ceremony, may be applied towards the T-TEN associates in applied science automotive technology degree at OSU-Okmulgee; Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas; Texas State Technical College, Waco; or San Jacinto College Central, in Pasadena, Texas. “Oklahoma places a high value on technical education,” Cole said. “The T-TEN program at OSU-Okmulgee is but one example. Judged “Best of the Best” by Toyota in 2002, Jerry Biddle, OSU – Okmulgee’s T-TEN coordinator and his staff placed first of more than 50 T-TEN programs nationwide. Programs are ranked on program quality, student performance, curriculum consistency, facilities, campus and industry support.” “The automotive industry has been waving the flag of technician shortages for about 10 years,” Cole said. “And today, the effects are truly being felt. An aging technician population, many challenged by bewildering technological advances, is retiring or moving out of the industry, causing a shortage of technicians qualified to work on today’s high-tech vehicles. The shortage is real, and is having an impact on our ability to serve our customer’s service needs.” Even though Toyota has been investing in the “grow your own technician” plan in Oklahoma on the OSU-Okmulgee campus since the late 80s, its current growth mode has outstripped the supply of qualified technicians. “With more than 1.3 million Toyotas on the road in the five states we serve, our service departments need qualified technicians, and a T-TEN graduate fits the bill. Right now, we have openings for more than 90 technicians of varying skill levels within GST’s 142 Toyota stores. More than 30 of those openings are entry-level – ideal for a T-TEN graduate.” Oklahoma’s CareerTech students receiving the GST T-TEN scholarships will be the winners in Automotive Service Skills Competition, in both secondary and post-secondary categories. Gulf States Toyota will recognize the first, second and third place winners in each category with a $1,000 GST T-TEN scholarship. “This two-year associate in science degree allows a student to learn from top ASE-Certified, Toyota trained instructors who are passionate about cars and eager to help the student build an automotive career,” Cole said. “They will also master the latest diagnostic equipment in a controlled, Toyota-specific learning environment and make money while they learn with a paid worksite educational experience at a Toyota dealership,” Cole said. “Students who graduate from this two-year program will have not only the skills and experience to land a secure job with a potential for high pay, but an associate in science degree, which puts them on the track to management, if they so desire,” Cole said. Automotive technology graduates from OSU-Okmulgee’s T-TEN program can expect to enter the workforce in a Toyota dealership as an entry-level technician, and can earn $25,000-$28,000 in their first year. With experience and further training, there’s the potential to become a master technician, with earning potential of $55,000 - $70,000 annually, and to eventually become a dealership manager or even own their own dealership one day. Gulf States Toyota, headquartered in Houston, provides new Toyota vehicles, genuine replacement parts, and product support to their family of 142 Toyota dealerships in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. posted 5/8/03 Related Links |
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