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Show ASPIRING DIESEL MECHANICS Gaining hands-on experience with an eye to future employment as diesel mechanics are Davis Area Vocational Center students Robert Eberhart and Tom Buervenich, both of Bontiful. By TOM BLSSELBERG KAYSVILLE - If you're into engines, especially the diesel variety, or think you'd like to put your tinkering to good use, diesel mechanics as a full-time job might be your bag. IN FACT, well-qualified men and women in that field are in great demand in the state, says Juan Allred. instructor in-structor at the Davis Area Vocational Center, where the program is into its second year. The former operator of his own business who has 12 years teaching experience under his belt, says jobs are available in a wiJe variety of areas, ranging from construction, where an employee might be required to work outside repairing and maintaining equipment on site, to ultra-modern, clean, comfortable com-fortable facilities maintained by some of the large area trucking firms. AN ALL-inclusive program, students from both secondary and post-high school are involved, in-volved, with some attending three hours while others are full-time, six hour a day students. stu-dents. They come to the class with all levels of experience but are trained for their own needs and at their own speed, Mr. Allred stresses. As with all vocational center programs, participation is open ended, meaning students can enter the program when convenient and leave upon finding a job or fulfilling their own requirements. Heavy emphasis is placed on hands-on hands-on training, with "book work" aimed at providing a basis for understanding and use of equipment. TRAINING includes terminology, termi-nology, cooling, fuel and air systems, preventative maintenance, mainte-nance, turn up, lubrication, electrical system, engines and hydraulics. Diagnostic procedures proce-dures are explored along with repair of gas and diesel equipment. equip-ment. An example of the classes includes this explanation for "Diesel Mechanics 130-D:" "A study of the electrical systems sys-tems used on both the gasoline and diesel engines, covering the starting system, charging system, wiring diagrams, electrical elec-trical ignition systems, how to trouble shoot electrical prob-lems prob-lems and repair of the sytems." NOTING AN ability to reach some students who normally shyed away from school, Mr. Allred says he had one student indicate he'd always hated school but added, "he just ate up everything I could give him." Other students point to the classes' "work at your own pace" method as a plus. "Because "Be-cause of individualizing, where a student works at his own pace, they don't have to keep up with the class" and some who've dropped out previously pre-viously keep at it under this program, he says, working at gaining concepts rather than just "covering the material." "IF IT TAKES ten times to do a test such as with the generator and alternator, they do it until they feel good about it." Although possibilities are good for placing program graduates, gra-duates, Mr. Allred warns pros-pective pros-pective students they shouldn't expect to be tearing apart a sophisticated engine that could cost $18,000 righ after af-ter landing their first job. And w hile a fullfledged journeyman may earn $I5-$20 an hour, an apprentice just starting out should expect to earn half that. THAT "PROBATION" period before reaching journeyman jour-neyman status varies from place to place, with IML Freight operating a mandatory four-year apprenticeship prog- ram while Rydor Trucks relies heavily on testing, allowing an employee to move up according accord-ing to demonstrated knowledge, know-ledge, Mr. Allred explains. A combination of schooling and experience seem to make for the best combination with experience counting perhaps more heavily than pure schooling, school-ing, in the eyes of one student in the program who just obtained a job. At Utah Transit Authority, two years of schooling and one year experience experi-ence are asked of applicants for engine maintenance. "IT REALLY doesn't matter mat-ter where you get it," Mr. Allred says of that all-important all-important experience, "but school is usually better (than from scratch). Most won't spend bucks to train from scratch but schooling isn't the only answer." And when a student obtains his certificate of completion. he shouldn't think he knows it all, Mr. Allred says, noting his craft committee's major problem prob-lem with new graduates. "They need to realize they don't know it all. They've got to learn to be teachable." THAT COMMITTEE is made up of those working in the industry, ranging from heads of well-known trucking firms to on-line mechanics. "They help direct us on what equipment to buy and the curriculum cur-riculum that we use (to be of most help) for when they (industry) (in-dustry) get them (students)." Another problem mentioned by that committee, Mr. Allred relates: "One of the things that is hard for young people to do is learn the basics." That moans learning and being able to apply use of a torch for soldering sol-dering or dealing with a broken bolt those incidental parts of the job that are considered routine in the industry. MR. AI LRU), who holds his state-issued trade and in- dustry certificate, given based on experience, as well as a bachelor's and master's degree de-gree in industrial education from USU, says there are openings in both the morning and afternoon sessions. While gas engines are studied, stu-died, emphasis lies with diesel. Placement stands at 100 percent, per-cent, he says, noting "a person can pretty well select where he wants to work." whether it be in construction, where pay is usually the best, to a smaller shop. Good benefits are generally gener-ally the rule with not big difference differ-ence between union and nonunion non-union shops and opportunities in both areas. FI RTH ER information is available by calling the voca- tional center in Kaysvillc at ' 7W-244 1. Classes are taught in ! a facility adjoining Davis High School. |