Industry Partnerships Are Key To Technical Campus Success

Technical education is rewarding for students who take the skills they learn into high-demand job markets, but the costs for materials and equipment can be significant. Collin Colleges Technical Campus has benefited from partnerships with, and donations from, industry leaders to help make its students educational experience more accessible.

The college has always sought out industry input for its workforce programs through advisory councils that help guide their curricula. Local and national businesses share insights into how their industries are developing, which allows the college to adapt to changing needs. Work groups like these helped clarify the colleges initial vision for the Technical Campus programs.

As the campus neared completion in Fall 2020, the district worked with industry partners to assist in outfitting the campuss trade bars industry-focused classroom and lab buildings for student use. Those businesses included Toyota Motors North America, Gulf States Toyota, Mercedes-Benz USA, Ewing Mercedes of Plano, Bob Tomes Ford, Hilti, Trane, Sherwin-Williams, Norton Saint-Gobain, and Simpson Strong-Tie.

Many companies provided equipment or materials, including HVAC units donated by Trane for students to train on, vehicle body panels donated by Bob Tomes Ford for students in the Collision Technology program, and a late-model car donated by Ewing Mercedes of Plano. Hilti donated both $63,342 in equipment and $15,000 toward construction program scholarships.

Technical Campus Provost Dr. Bill King said donations like those show that these businesses are invested in the future of their industries.

The donations are a clear indication that service is a core tenet of their business philosophy and culture, Dr. King said, adding that these businesses recognize the value of an educated workforce.

An investment in the future is even more apparent when looking at the partnerships Collin College has with Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. While the district is working closely with other manufacturers to forge similar agreements, the Toyota Technical Education College Support Elite (TECS) program and the Mercedes-Benz MB-Star program already provide students with pathways for certification on their vehicles.

Collin students who choose to take part in the programs have access to manufacturer-specific curricula, online e-learning modules, proprietary scan tools, and late-model vehicles to train on from Toyota, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz. Students use these tools and training in conjunction with the universal automotive and collision repair curricula taught to all students in order to be certified by the manufacturer to work on their vehicles.

Toyota has been focused on providing vehicles and training equipment, but the most important thing we can provide is the pathway from the classroom to a great career, said Joseph Myers, technician development manager at Toyota North America. Local Toyota and Lexus dealerships are looking for technicians with quality training, and students from Collin walk into those dealerships with that training on their rsums.

Toby Gustavus, workforce development manager at Gulf States Toyota, said it makes sense to partner with programs like Collin Colleges.

There is a need for certified Toyota technicians to repair our vehicles. These same technicians add value to our dealers and the customers who purchase their products, Gustavus said. The best way to find those individuals is to partner with local community colleges and provide them with the support they need to train our future technicians.