By Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Delgado Community College has entered into an agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the National Coalition of Certification Centers to offer Fiat Chrysler brand-specific training to Delgado students beginning in the fall.
The Motor Vehicle Technology students will get the opportunity to earn all relevant Chrysler certifications while enrolled in Delgado’s fully accredited associate degree and technical certificate programs.
“We are making great progress in expanding our geographic footprint of training sites by identifying and certifying colleges nationwide that have highly-qualified automotive programs,” said John Fox, Director of Dealer Training at FCA US.
Delgado is one of 20 colleges nationwide selected to participate in the new program.
Fiat Chrysler projects it will need to fill more than 5,000 service technician positions at its dealerships nationwide by 2018 and established the program to train about 1,000 students annually.
Students completing training can expect to earn $35,000 to $40,000 annually upon employment at an FCA dealership, said Donald Davenport, chair of the program at Delgado.
Delgado already has partnerships in place to train automotive technicians for Ford and General Motors dealers.
Each program requires two years to complete, with one eight-week period of full-time training and one eight-week period of full-time work each 16-week semester.
Delgado currently has about 40 students total in both programs, which require employment at a Ford or GM dealership prior to entering.
Delgado already has partnerships in place to train automotive technicians for Ford and General Motors dealers.
