CTE Series Part 3: Automotive Technology
Feature Story
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Feature Story 〰️
In March of 2022, the Texas Workforce Commission released a labor market report showing active job postings from January 1 to March 9, 2022 in the Rural Capital Area, which includes Williamson County and eight other surrounding counties.
Many of the high-need, unfilled jobs in the area require skills, knowledge, and/or certifications that students in Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Georgetown ISD (GISD) gain within their program of study. This series will take a deep dive into GISD CTE programs that are actively equipping students with the skills to fill these current job trends after high school.
The ultimate goal in every Career and Technical Education (CTE) course is to set students up for success after high school, whether that means going to college, attending trade school, or getting a job. In the case of Juan Mijarez, 2020 East View High School (EVHS) graduate, he found his success in the automotive industry.
“I was in Automotive technology for three years, stepping away my sophomore year to explore art,” Mijarez said. “That year away showed me how much I loved working in automotive, and when I returned, I said to myself, ‘Yeah, I could really do this the rest of my life,’.” And so, Mijarez pursued his career goal.
After graduating from EVHS, Mijarez headed to Waco to attend Texas State Technical College (TSTC) after speaking with recruiters during a campus visit. There, Mijarez entered the Mopar (MOtor PARts) CAP (Career Automotive Program) where he pursued an Automotive Technology – Chrysler Specialization certificate.
“At a Chrysler dealership, the employers see my certification and know that my knowledge is specialized for their car models,” Mijarez said. “It definitely gives me a leg up in the industry.”
Mijarez’s qualifications certainly caught the eyes of employers, as he had three different car dealerships interested in him while he was at TSTC. In April of 2022, Mijarez received a job offer from Bluebonnet Chrysler Dodge Ram in New Braunfels at CarFest in San Antonio. Not long after, he made the decision to remain local to Georgetown and continue his work at Covert CDJR (Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram) in north Austin.
“It is always awesome to see my students stay local,” EVHS Automotive Technology Instructor Derrik Mersiovsky said. “For my students to go through the auto tech program and take it seriously, graduate, and get a job… It makes me so proud.”
Mijarez looks back on his time at EVHS and attributes much of his growth to Mervisovsky – or, “Mr. D”, as he refers to him –, his senior year auto tech instructor.
“Having an instructor like Mr. D guide me and give me freedom to understand what a real workplace looks like, it really put me in a good place,” Mijarez said. “What set my mind right was the environment created in the auto shop.”
A key part of the CTE automotive program is teaching students how to be self-motivated, independent workers – a skill listed among the top 10 Soft Skills hiring companies are currently looking for, according to the TWC report.
“Preparing students for the workforce is what we strive for in CTE,” Mersiovsky said. “Once they graduate, that’s when they really grow. Juan is a strong example of that, and it shows in his ability to solve problems on his own with out-of-the-box thinking.”
The rapid growth in the automotive industry brings big future plans for the automotive technology program at EVHS.
“I am connected to business owners in the industry who are trying to keep up with the growth, and they share with me what they need from students coming out of high school,” Mersiovsky said. “There are people offering real wages and training to these high school students.”
“CTE instructors are combining community, industry and curriculum in these programs,” Mersiovsky said. “Juan’s story shows the amazing growth happening in the local workforce and what is in store for the future students of CTE.”
More
Want to find out more about Juan’s time at TSTC? Check out this story.
You can view the full TWC report here.
Check out part one and part two of the CTE series on our website.
Check out our website for past stories about the auto tech program.
