Young Drivers

"Future Techs" Get Job Ideas at Auto Show

When I was a senior in high school, my father suggested I take auto mechanics, which at that time was called "auto shop." That class began a lifelong love affair with cars and eventually led me to my current job in automotive journalism.

So, when I heard that a group of teenagers was going to be touring the Los Angeles auto show, I arranged to meet them to see what kind of plans they had for the future. I remember how hard it was to go from the confusion of high school to the so-called "real world" and find a job I really liked.

The three teenagers, all 17-year-old high school seniors, were from the Los Angeles area and had never been to the L.A. auto show — or any major auto show. By the time I caught up with them, they looked a little dazed by so much chrome and glass and so many new high-end cars. But as we talked, it was clear that their tour made a definite impression on them; one that might mold their futures.

The teenagers were part of a group brought to the show along with their teachers by Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES), which sponsors a "Future Techs" program. The event is designed to give high school students a chance to tour the show and attend press conferences. AYES — which offers education, scholarships, internships and career guidance — is sponsored by 14 automakers and a number of education and automotive groups.

Salvador Rodriguez, from the West Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills, California, is already working in the local Honda dealership — and has the battle scars to prove it. He proudly showed me where he had burned his wrist on an exhaust manifold while removing an oil filter. He owns a 1985 Toyota Camry with 200,000 miles on it that originally cost him $500.

After touring the auto show, Rodriguez said he might want to continue his education and become an automotive engineer. If he did so, he would make sure he "wouldn't design an oil drain plug no one can reach" like in some of the cars he now services.

Sandra Aquiar, from Hemet High School in Hemet, California, became interested in cars at a young age because of her father. "I wanted to learn how to do it [work on cars] myself," she said. "I like everything about cars."

Before she came to the L.A. auto show, she had wanted to work someday in a dealership's service department. But after the day's tour she had a new idea. She was taken with the idea of getting into product presentation, explaining the features and operation of newly introduced cars to people with less mechanical aptitude.

Peyton Wynn, also from Hemet, owns a 1985 Toyota pickup that he works on in his school's auto technology class. His ambition had been to own his own garage and work on cars for a living. But seeing the concept cars piqued his imagination and made him think about designing cars. In any case, he plans to enroll in the Honda PACT (Professional Automotive Career Training) program at Mt. San Jacinto College after graduation.

Vance Bloom, his automotive technology teacher at Hemet High, said that AYES provides a variety of late-model cars for the students to work on, either demos or buy-backs. I asked Bloom if there was much for the students to work on, since electronics and computer components have replaced many of the mechanical parts on today's cars.

"It's more technical and electronic," Bloom said, adding that diagnostic skills have become more important.

"I mess things up on purpose," Bloom said. "Then I show them a box of parts and ask them to figure out what's wrong and fix the cars. They love the challenge."

Jeff Bookman, who teaches at West Valley Occupational Center, said he tries to evaluate the students who come to his class with an eye toward jobs in the automotive field.

"I listen to what they say and try to match their personality with something they might be interested in doing," Bookman said. "If they are outgoing I might suggest product presentation or even sales. If their mechanical aptitude is high I steer them toward being technicians."

As these students continued their tour of the auto show, disappearing among all the new cars, I couldn't help remembering how important my auto shop teacher had been to me. Joseph Dube, at Concord Carlise High School in my hometown of Concord, Massachusetts, had taken an interest in me — an average student at best — and encouraged me to match my abilities with the job market.

"You're changing lives," I said to the teachers as they left.

"I love what I do," Bloom said, and hurried off after the students.

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