NTXAD Fast Track Program Is Launching Graduates’ Automotive Careers By NORTH TEXAS AUTOMOBILE DEALERS Eight of the 14 students who completed this summer’s Fast Track Automotive Training Program at the Collin College Technical Campus in Allen are already employed by automotive dealers — several of them sent to the program by the dealerships that hired them — and the remaining six are actively interviewing. Fast Track, sponsored by the Carroll Shelby Foundation and North Texas Automobile Dealers (NTXAD), is an 80-hour program that meets five days a week over four weeks. Designed for recent high school graduates, the program strengthens the maintenance and light-repair skills introduced in high school automotive courses while preparing students for the pace and expectations of a professional dealership service department. Students received hands-on instruction in vehicle maintenance, tire service, multipoint inspections (including video inspection documentation), repair order writing, shop safety and the proper use of automotive lifts. Every graduate earned Lift Safety Certification from the Automotive Lift Institute, an industry-recognized credential they carry directly into the workplace. “The Fast Track program gives students an opportunity to sharpen the skills they learned in high school and make a successful transition into the automotive workforce,” said Brent Franks, president of North Texas Automobile Dealers. “Every graduate left this program either employed or interviewing, and several dealerships valued the training enough to send their own new hires through it. When employers [enroll] their people in a program, that tells you the training works.” “My grandfather believed in giving young people a chance to prove what they could do with their hands and their determination,” said Aaron Shelby of the Carroll Shelby Foundation. “Fast Track carries that belief forward — these APPRENTICESHIP & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DEALERS’ CHOICE 16
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