Honda Technician Training Includes Theory and On-The-Job Experience

If you are already working in the automotive service technician within a Honda Canada Inc., but are looking to advance your career and move up in the workplace, you should consider attending Centennial College’s Honda technician training. Officially known as Automotive Service Technician Honda AHAP MAP 32, this offering is designed for those employed by a Honda dealership or those who are selected through an interview process. Applicants must possess an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or a GED or equivalent. Candidates may apply directly to Centennial College, with successful applicants obtaining an employer and registering as a MAP apprentice with the Apprenticeship Branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The application for the MAP 32 program can be completed online. It should be noted that acceptance is based on successful completion of all entry requirements and space is limited.

Once accepted, students experience Honda technician training that is completed in four eight-week blocks, alternating with apprenticeship work terms at students’ Acura/Honda dealer. This type of structure works to the students’ and employers’ advantage in that with each alternation, students increase their knowledge and apply what they have learned in class to the job, then and they apply what they learned on the job to the increasingly difficult courses on campus. Meanwhile, employers get Honda technicians whom they have seen develop in front of their own eyes and who are job-ready upon program completion.

The Honda technician training structure also offers students more in-depth and longer school sessions than those students in traditional apprenticeship programs. During these in-school sessions, Honda technician training is facilitated from Ontario’s largest automotive training facility, which boasts all of the standards that would be found at a Honda dealership. As such, all aspects of vehicle technology are embodied in the Honda technician training, including electrical, body electrical, engine, transmission, steering, front-end, and all other aspects that would allow a Honda vehicle to be serviced. The training also sees an emphasis on electronics and the diagnosing of mechanical systems.

Among the specific courses are: Applied Work Practices and Procedures, Motor Vehicle Engine Systems, Steering, Suspension and Brakes; Electrical Electronics and Fuels, Motor Vehicle Gear Trains, and more.

It should be noted that during in-school portions of the Honda technician training students may be eligible for Employment Insurance. Meanwhile, during their time with an employer, students are compensated for their work. Apprentices are also currently eligible for up to $4000 in various grants and tax incentives. Employers are eligible for up to $45,000 over four years in various federal and provincial tax incentives.

Once they graduate from the Honda technician training, students go on to work with Honda, which is the sixth largest automotive manufacturer in the world and in the year 2008 surpassed Chrysler as the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. The Honda technicians employed by dealerships have a variety of tasks, including: diagnosing problems using Honda diagnostic equipment; performing repairs and preventive maintenance on engines, transmissions, electrical systems, brakes and tires. Honda technicians also conduct vehicle inspections.