{"id":535,"date":"2018-09-13T13:56:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T13:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wptest.mdek12.org\/testsite2\/2018\/09\/13\/mississippi-expands-number-of-nationally-accredited-automotive-technology-programs\/"},"modified":"2018-09-13T13:56:22","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T13:56:22","slug":"mississippi-expands-number-of-nationally-accredited-automotive-technology-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/2018\/09\/13\/mississippi-expands-number-of-nationally-accredited-automotive-technology-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Mississippi Expands Number of Nationally Accredited Automotive Technology Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Immediate Release: September 13, 2018<\/p>\n

JACKSON, Miss \u2013 This school year, close to a third of Mississippi school districts are offering high school students a nationally accredited automotive technology program that will prepare them for direct entry into the workforce. <\/p>\n

Mississippi is one of only 17 states that require high school automotive technology programs to be accredited by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). The Automotive Service Excellence Education Foundation oversees the accreditation process, which includes an extensive evaluation of each program\u2019s facilities, standards, instructors and administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe automotive technology field has become increasingly complex over the past decade, and high school programs have had to develop their staff, equipment and curriculum in order to teach the advanced technologies this profession requires,\u201d said Wendy Clemons, executive director of secondary education at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).<\/p>\n

Approximately 41 high school career and technical education (CTE) programs statewide offer students NATEF-certified training in 2018-19. The number of certified programs is expected to grow as more Mississippi high school CTE programs complete the accreditation process. <\/p>\n

To recognize the growing number of NATEF-certified teachers in Mississippi, East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) hosted 36 certified automotive technology teachers this summer for a celebration and a specialized training provided by BMW. <\/p>\n

EMCC is a leader in automotive technology training and is one of several community colleges in Mississippi that offers an associate degree in automotive service technology. The community college program provides a career ladder for high school graduates who want to build upon the maintenance and light repair training they receive in high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cAutomotive industry contacts have told us that nationally certified programs will better train students for the automotive industry and make the industries more willing to invest in the certified programs,\u201d Clemons said. \u201cThese investments can range from more training for instructors to equipment donations for the automotive technology labs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guillermo Lopez from Gulf States Toyota, which covers five southern and southwestern states, said there is a big demand for qualified entry-level workers who want to build a successful career in the automotive industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission, in partnership with Toyota dealers, is to support programs that create tomorrow\u2019s Toyota technician,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cWe want to increase student interest in pursuing a career in technical education and provide them with the resources and skillset that Toyota believes is essential for success. This skills gap does exist in our industry, and it\u2019s our collective responsibility to partner with our local schools and communities to advise them on all the great opportunities the automotive industry has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mississippi\u2019s NATEF-Certified Sites:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alcorn County Career and Technical Center
\nBiloxi Career and Technology Center
\nBrookhaven Career and Technical Center
\nCalhoun County Career and Technical Center
\nCarl Loftin Career and Technical Center \u2013 Columbia
\nCleveland Career and Development Center
\nClinton Career Complex  
\nDavid Williams Career and Technical Center-Tunica County Schools
\nDesoto County Career and Technical Center
\nForest-Scott County Career and Technical Center
\nGeorge County High School
\nGrenada Career and Technical Center
\nGulfport High School
\nHancock County Career Technical Center
\nHarrison County Career and Technical Center
\nIndianola Career and Technical Center
\nItawamba County Career and Technical Center
\nJackson County Career and Technical Center
\nJones County Career and Technical Center
\nKosciusko Attala Career and Technical Center
\nLamar County Career and Technical Center
\nLarry Summers Career and Technical Center-Yazoo City
\nLeake County Career and Technical Center
\nLeland Career and Technical Center
\nMadison Career and Technical Center
\nMcKellar Career and Technology Center \u2013 Columbus Municipal
\nNew Albany Career and Technical Center
\nOcean Springs High School
\nOxford Lafayette Business and Industry Complex
\nPearl Rankin Career and Technical Center
\nPerry County Career and Technical Center
\nPhiladelphia Neshoba County Career and Technical Center
\nPicayune Career and Technical Center
\nPrentiss County Career and Technical Center
\nRoss Collins Career and Technical Center \u2013 Meridian Public
\nSenatobia Tate County Career and Technical Center
\nSouth Delta Career and Technical Center
\nTippah County Career and Technical Center
\nWalthall County Career and Technical Center
\nWebster County Career and Technical Center
\nWinona Career and Technical Center<\/p>\n

\n\"Automotive<\/p>\n

Automotive technology instructors (from left) Kenneth Harper of Tupelo, Gerald Simmons of Attala County and J.C. Buford of Clarksdale participate in a summer training at East Mississippi Community College.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release: September 13, 2018 JACKSON, Miss \u2013 This school year, close to a third of Mississippi school districts are offering high school students a nationally accredited automotive technology program that will prepare them for direct entry into the workforce.  Mississippi is one of only 17 states that require high school automotive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}