ACI ( Auto Collision, Inc. )

Archive for April, 2010

Most parents want the best for their kids and many believe a college education is the key to opportunity and success.  But how many kids are entering college without a clue as to what they’d like to do when they get out?  And what about the kids who have true talents that lie outside the scope of academics?  For many kids, vo-tech (Centers of Applied Technology) could be their chance to shine — their path to future personal and economic success.  Unfortunately, not enough parents know about this hidden opportunity and others simply don’t understand what a true opportunity it is.

Beginning at the high-school level, students accepted into their local vo-tech schools spend part of their day at their local high school and the remainder of their school day at vo-tech taking classes that provide specific career training using a hands-on approach.  The kids love it and they get a serious career jump-start over their purely academic peers.

Vo-tech begins with a rotation of classes through several career paths.  This gives the students a chance to see where their true interests lie before they choose a specific course and follow it through to completion. Many are also given the opportunity to intern in local businesses as their training progresses.  For those who choose to further their education after graduation, college is still a viable option.  Those students move forward with a greater focus on what they expect to get from college and a plan for their future.

For those students who aren’t so academically inclined, vo-tech provides them one of their first opportunities to realize their potential.  Where would we all be if this were a world filled only with doctors and lawyers?  There would be no restaurants.  Who would fix your car after an accident?  Who would you call when your heater stops working or your plumbing backs up?  Who would build our houses?  Fact is, we as parents need to stop de-valuing the talents and interests our kids have for these very necessary and lucrative careers.   (Did you know that a skilled auto body repair technician can easily earn $80K annually while working no weekends and no more than 8 hours a day?)

There’s also another point to be made for vo-tech…its FREE.  Ok, I suppose it isn’t free in the sense that it is our tax dollars at work.  Score one for our public education system!  Vo-tech is only available to high school students.  An adult deciding to enter one of these career paths after graduation will have to find and pay for the required training on their own.  Equivalent training for auto body repair and refinishing offered at private training centers takes two years to complete to the tune of approximately $30K.  And those graduates enter the industry at the same level as vo-tech graduates.  I can only assume similar is true of the other career training paths offered through your local vo-tech school.

My point is this…check out your local vo-tech.  I’ve worked closely with Rodney Bolton and Keith Brown of the Center of Applied Technology North here in Severn, Maryland for many years.  I can’t say enough about how valuable this school and its teachers are to our community.  You want the best for your kids…you owe it to them to look into all the options and keep an open mind.  Click here for more information about our local vo-tech school.   For information about vo-tech schools in other locations, refer to your county’s public school system website or contact your local high school.

To download a flier with information about the Auto Body Repair and Refinishing courses offered at the Center of Applied Technology North, visit my website  www.ACIBodyShop.com and look for the link on our Employment Opportunities page.

*Our blog has moved!  Please visit us at YoursMineandCars.com.  You’ll find this post and all others at the new site along with any and all new content.  See you there!

Teens behind the wheel is scary enough!  How can you keep their eyes and their attention on the road and off their cell phones when you’re not with them?  Well, I hear there is a new cell phone app that can do just that.  Called izup, it creates a no cell phone zone that launches automatically when they’re in the car driving more than 5 miles an hour. With the exception of 911 and three other preselected numbers (like mom and dad), the handset is shut down from both incoming and outgoing texts and calls while the car is moving.  And get this…it will even alert you if someone tries to disable the app once it is installed.  Check it out at  www.getizup.com

*Our blog has moved!  Please visit us at YoursMineandCars.com.  You’ll find this post and all others at the new site along with any and all new content.  See you there!