WMCC Campus News: President's Columns

WMCC Automotive Graduates Are Armed With The Latest Technical Information

Katharine Eneguess, President of White Mountains Community College

According to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, there are over a million vehicles registered in New Hampshire. That's a lot of vehicles for a state that only has a little over one and a half million residents, but that total includes buses and trucks, too, not just personal use vehicles. In the present recession some communities are reporting a decrease in the number of vehicles registered, but that doesn't take away from the fact that we are a rural state, and people will continue to need their own cars for their every day transportation needs. Even if that number were to decline as steeply as the stock market has, there would still be a lot of cars and trucks on the state's roads.

The job of keeping those vehicles up and running has gotten more and more technical. Those who work maintaining and repairing vehicles have to be automotive technicians, skilled in diagnosing problems in complex electronic and computer systems, and able to fix those problems.

White Mountains Community College graduates who have earned our associate degree in Automotive Technology go out into the workforce armed with the latest technical information. The degree program, certified by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF), gives our students automotive theory along with extensive practical training in our well-equipped lab. Students in our classes at our Berlin campus become skilled in using scan tools, digital multi meters, exhaust gas analyzers, torches and welders, computerized alignment systems, oscilloscopes, and more. As part of the program, students run the college's auto parts store, managing the inventory in an efficient manner.

We also offer two shorter courses of classes that lead to a Basic Automotive Service Certificate and an Advanced Automotive Service Certificate. The basic certificate is comprised of five courses that give students a good automotive foundation. The advanced certificate builds upon that foundation by adding an additional four courses. Neither certificate includes any general education courses, just the theory and lab component of the automotive classes. All of the courses from the certificates can transfer into the degree program if a student desires to take it to the next level.

In tight economic times, people hold on to their cars longer, as we all have seen by the financial trouble the auto industry is in. This should be a boon for auto repair shops, who should be benefiting from more of their regular customers needing their services to keep their vehicles on the road. Unfortunately, in the short term, people seem to be putting off routine maintenance on those vehicles. This is a trend that is not sustainable in the long term, however, and sooner or later, the wear and tear from daily use of those vehicles will show up on the bodies and engines of the cars and trucks.

We will always need motor vehicle mechanics, service managers, and service engineers. Car and truck maintenance and repairs cannot be outsourced, and even if the internal combustion engine were replaced tomorrow with a "greener" type of engine, we would still need people to maintain and repair the new technology. We will never lose our need for transportation.

If you like to tinker around with machines and are fascinated by the way things work, this career field could be for you. To learn more about the courses we offer in this field and the requirements for the associate degree and the certificates, go to www.wmcc.edu/courses/autot.html.

Back to News List

Privacy Policies | Notice of Non-Discrimination