A blend of students from Montgomery and Boone counties meet every day at the Career and Technical Education Center in downtown Crawfordsville.
Several programs are offered through CTE with several businesses, healthcare facilities and companies affording participants the opportunity to shadow employees on-site.
As for the auto services technology courses, the center provides a full-service mechanics’ shop, itself located inside a former car dealership.
“This program focuses on everything from brakes to electrical systems,” CTE Coordinator Sarah Nicodemus said. “With the way the automotive industry is moving, we’re trying to make sure they’re prepared.”
First-year students come into the center for a morning session while second-year students arrive in the afternoon.
“It’s set up like a live car dealership shop would be, so it’s nice this building lends itself to that,” Nicodemus added.
Both sessions, however, are taught by CTE graduate Brian Fletcher.
“Our instructor actually started his career working here, and then came back to us as an auto-instructor from the industry,” Nicodemus said.
“The unique thing about our programs is that most of our instructors come from industry,” she said. “They bring that perspective with them and they have that real-world expectation and mindset. They can tell you how it’s going to be.”
The center is located at 222 E. Market St., a familiar location for some. The building has housed several car dealerships over several decades.
For more information, call the center at 765-362-2340 or visit www.westcentralcte.org.
