Niagara This Week reporter Sarah Ferguson visited the Automotive Lab at Niagara College’s Welland Campus where she interviewed two students in NC’s new Automotive Service Technician Pre-Apprenticeship Program for Women.
Kristie Dulaj and Melissa Everitt, both mature students, comment on their love of cars and how they are pursuing the program as a second career.
The 24-week program is preparing Dulaj and Everitt for a career as an automotive service technician. The women will learn how to diagnose and repair engines, transmissions, brakes and clutches, and perform preventive maintenance to vehicles. They will also complete an eight-week job placement for even more hands-on experience.
NC program coordinator Zoe McGhie explains that the program is fully-funded, offering female students an opportunity to learn the skills needed to enter the automotive industry at no cost to them. The pre-apprenticeship program is the first of three levels of certification offered by NC.
The program is a response to industry demand for women in the automotive service industry.
Read the May 30 story here.
Read the coverage in The Welland Tribune.
Read the coverage in The St. Catharines Standard.
