Montana Automotive Technologies – Partnership gives Missoula County Public Schools students training as auto mechanics

"We need the trades," Ault said, "and the United States is weak on trades. We are working with kids who will become our tradesmen."

The unique six-year-old partnership between MCPS and the automotive nonprofit that trains high school students in the auto mechanic trade has become so successful, other communities around the country are modeling the program, said Alan Ault, president of Montana Automotive Technologies http://www.montanaautotech.org/ .

"We are being copied around the nation because high schools across the country have taken auto mechanics out of the schools because it’s too costly," Ault said. "We work on older model cars because they are simpler, and we work on the electric, interior, body, engine, transmission and brakes."

At the heart of this program is a hands-on experience for students, who learn the basics of automotive care, including tire care, and by the end of the school year leave with enough knowledge and skill to gain an entry-level job, Leik explained.

By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/partnership-gives-mcps-students-training-as-auto-mechanics/article_ce3f1f84-2e0a-11e2-b0cf-001a4bcf887a.html