Toyota partners with TCC for automotive training

Front row (L-R): Executive Vice President of Toyota North America Chris Nielsen and Tarrant County College Chancellor Eugene Giovannini

Second row (standing, L-R) TCC Vice Chancellor for Institutional Intelligence & Technology Guhan Raghu, TCC Trustee Teresa Ayala, Texas Workforce Commissioner Representing Employers Ruth Hughs (Texas Workforce Commission), TCC Trustee Louise Appleman, Gulf States Toyota President Jeff Parent, City Councilwoman Gyna Bivens, TCC Automotive Instructor Steve Wille, TCC Northeast Campus President Allen Goben

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) and Gulf States Toyota (GST) announced May 8 they are partnering with Tarrant County College (TCC) to bring state-of-the-art automotive training through the Toyota Technician Training and Education Network (T-TEN) to Fort Worth.

The program will start with 22 students and is scheduled to start in the fall of 2018.

Students graduating from the program would be eligible for jobs with pay starting from $32,000 to $42,000 annually. Salaries reach as much as $85,000 annually as the graduates gain experience and more training, officials said.

“This partnership is a huge win for Tarrant County College and all of North Texas,” said Dr. Peter Jordan, president of Tarrant County College South Campus. “It means TCC faculty are in a position to offer another dimension to the automotive technology curriculum we deliver. Students will have the opportunity to acquire additional skills and national certification in a burgeoning industry; increasing their employability and earning potential. For Toyota and Lexus, this partnership creates a ready pool of highly skilled potential employees to meet growing workforce demands.”

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At the announcement on Monday at TCC, attendees included executives from TMNA, GST, TCC, and other state and local dignitaries, including U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth.

At the event, it was announced that Toyota has already provided 12 training vehicles and plans to provide an additional 12 vehicles over the next 18 months for the program, allowing students access to modern vehicle technology. The TCC program is the fifth school in the region and its graduates will be eligible for jobs where GST and Lexus Southern dealers are located in a five state region that includes Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

“T-TEN was conceived more than 30 years ago to ensure our dealers have a source of highly-trained, entry-level technicians and to support America’s Career and Technical education system,” said Chris Nielsen, executive vice president of product support, and chief quality officer of Toyota Motor North America. “Over 11,000 graduates have started their career through T-TEN, and, today, TCC joins a community of 37 schools providing industry-leading and occupationally-aligned automotive training.”