Enter the Industry with Confidence After Attending the Automotive Service Technician Training at Centennial College

"The benefits from an employer's standpoint are that all the classroom training is complete," says John Morin, a service manager at Canadian Tire of the Automotive Service Technician training at Centennial College. "We have a technician who is far more advanced in theory, more confident in his or her abilities and now just requires practical experience. We (also) have the benefit of having additional staff for the busy summer months and the new hire can attend school in the fall. This gives us a crop of well-prepared people who can advance quickly to a licensed technician."

This glowing testimonial offers an insight into why the Automotive Service Technician Canadian Tire MAP 32 (as it is officially known) is so beneficial to those wanting to become automotive service technicians in a Canadian Tire dealer, or other car dealership.

To apply for the one-year automotive service technician training, students must have completed at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or GED or equivalent. They should also be employed by a Canadian Tire dealership or selected through an interview process. For this modified apprenticeship, candidates may apply directly to Centennial College. As space in the undertaking is limited, acceptance is based on successful completion of all entry requirements. Successful applicants must obtain an employer and then register as a MAP apprentice with the Apprenticeship Branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Once accepted, students will obtain 32 weeks of in-school training, followed by four weeks of on-the-job experience at one of Ontario's over 190 Canadian Tire stores, which leads to a high placement rate for candidates. Overall, this training is more in-depth and in-school sessions are longer than that of traditional apprenticeships. The 32 weeks in-school are spent at Ashtonbee Campus. This location houses the largest transportation training centre in the province and includes tools, real cars and a lab environment. The generic tools on which students practice are supplied by Canadian Tire to ensure confidence and comfort once they are employed. Students take five automotive service technician training courses that are part of a provincial automotive curriculum and satisfy the knowledge necessary to become a licensed technician. These courses are: Drivetrian Sytems, Electrical/Electronic & Emmission Systems, Engine Systems, Work Practices and Procedures, Suspension/Steering and Brake Systems.

Once they have finished the on-campus portion of the Automotive Service Technician Apprenticeship, students go out into the industry for their work experience. At Canadian Tire locations, they work along side automotive service professionals, applying what they have learned during their in-school sessions, gaining new knowledge and getting to know the company. It is a chance to show off their newly acquired or developed skills. During the employer sessions, students are compensated.

Graduates are responsible for maintaining and repairing cars, vans and pickup trucks by fixing engines, changing brakes, checking windshield wipers and fluid levels, and replacing mufflers, hoses, belts and plugs.