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Plenty of options for young
mechanics
By Lynda Jensen
Herald Journal Editor
Young area mechanics looking
for a break into the auto industry don't need to look very far.
Two options are available locally
Wright Technical Center in Buffalo and Ridgewater College
in Hutchinson.
Sixteen-year-old Kyle Schmieg
is one such example, since he has already decided that cars will
be his life.
Schmieg attends Wright Tech as
a junior at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted school.
He takes the bus every day to
Buffalo as part of his classes at HLWW, learning about everything
from maintenance, brakes, steering and other subjects.
"It's a little bit of everything,"
he commented.
When Schmieg completes two years
of classes while he attends HLWW, he will be ahead of the game
for obtaining employment in that field.
Classes at the technical center
were recently updated to meet the demand from dealerships and
big auto companies that want to train at an earlier age, commented
instructor William Schroeder.
"Now we're teaching specialized
classes," Schroeder said.
The classes reflect changes in
the car industry overall, which is becoming more complicated,
he said.
"It's 90 percent electronics
now," he said.
Young mechanics are finding a
different arena than years ago, commented long time Ridgewater
instructor Roger Canon.
Canon outlined several changes
in the auto industry during the past decades:
Early in the 1980s, front-wheel
drive was introduced, which changed the nature of the car's structure,
Canon said.
Because of front-wheel drive,
the body of the car became one single welded unit, he said.
This changed the way cars were
repaired, he said.
Before, a mechanic could simply
turn a nut to tighten something up, for example now, repairs
must be made precisely within three millimeters, or about the
width of three dimes. "It's much more precise," he
said.
Another big change is the chemical
composition of car paint, which happened in the mid 1980s.
This change was made because
of acid rain, Canon said. Acid rain essentially attacks the pigment
in paint. With a two stage finish, this allows a layer of protection
on the paint to avoid damage, he said.
Also related to paints is a new
law that was passed two years ago called the National Volatile
Organic Compounds law. This pertains to how and what kinds of
chemicals can be applied to autos, which addresses environmental
concerns, he said.
Previously, body shops could
keep one or two paint guns to work on cars, but now those same
small shops are probably carrying between five and 10 guns to
do the job, he said.
In the mid 1990s, several features
were added to cars including anti-lock braking system (ABS) brakes,
standard airbags, and many other kinds of electronic components
some as simple as electronic windshields and antennas,
he said.
In this case, it's almost as
important what the mechanic doesn't do, than what he does do,
Canon said.
Something else that also changed
over the years is customer awareness of modern standards and
products.
Customers that are more wary
of the precise standards of the day are more willing to ask about
them, he said.
Ridgewater offers four major
areas in its comprehensive lesson plan: painting/refinishing,
mechanical/electrical, nonstructural (items such fenders, doors,
and hoods), and structural items (items such as the frame rail
or rocker panels).
Wright Technical generally prepares
students to continue mechanics in a post secondary program such
as Ridgewater.
Both schools offer testing that
subscribes to the Auto Service Excellence (ASE) standards; although
to be fully ASE-certified, a mechanic must have at least one
year of experience, Canon said.
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