Automotive Technician

Ford Automotive Career Exploration is a partnership program between Ford Motor Company, Ford/Lincoln dealerships, and secondary and post-secondary educational institutions.

The intent of the program is to raise awareness and increase interest in career opportunities within the automotive industry, ultimately as a service technician. There are no fees to educational institutions to participate in the Ford ACE program. The only requirement for a school to participate is to be sponsored by a local Ford/Lincoln dealership.

Dakota County Technical College provides all students enrolled in the Automotive Technology program access to the Mercedes-Benz Campus program. Through this program, students will have access to some of the same training taken by Mercedes-Benz Technicians. Students will have the opportunity to start the process of becoming a Mercedes-Benz Registered Technician. While in the program, students will receive basic to intermediate technical training from campus instructors. Students who are selected for employment by area Mercedes-Benz dealers will gain industry experience through an internship.

Dakota County Technical College provides all students enrolled in the Automotive Technology program access to the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) Local program. Mopar CAP LOCAL schools have a set curriculum designed and developed by FCA. The curriculum includes a variety of self-study web-based courses and the Mopar CAP LOCAL curriculum covers levels 0 and 1. Work study is a primary component of Mopar CAP LOCAL. You will alternate between attending classes and working at a nearby CJDR dealership. This gives you a chance to apply what you have learned in class in a real-world setting with experienced Technicians. Upon completion of the Mopar CAP LOCAL program, you will have the training, the on-the-job experience and the hands-on know-how that dealerships look for when hiring new Technicians.

Dakota County Technical College provides all students enrolled in the Automotive Technology program access to the Subaru Knowledge, Information & Learning program. By infusing Subaru's Web-Based Training (WBT) into the existing curriculum, students have the ability to take most of the entry-level training that is required of all Subaru technicians. Students at participating Subaru-U partner schools can gain valuable knowledge of Subaru vehicle systems that can better prepare them for possible employment in any one of approximately 600 Subaru retailers nationwide.

Toyota is excited to announce the all new Technician Education College Support (TECS) program. TECS is designed to supplement your existing curriculum and help students interested in a career with Lexus or Toyota to gain a "head start" in their training.

TECS is available to post-secondary automotive programs as well as secondary automotive programs. However, it is limited to participants 16 years and older. Students who complete the eLearning modules will qualify to become a Lexus Certified Technician or a Toyota Maintenance Level Certified Technician.

Dakota County Technical College provides all students enrolled in the Automotive Technology program access to the Volkswagen Academy Certification Resource Center for non-dealer learners. Students will have access to Volkswagen web-based training. These courses are elective and intended for learners who desire to increase their knowledge and skills in additional areas of interest. Training that is completed on this site can be transferred to a hiring Volkswagen dealer.