“We have dealers that sponsor students year after year after year because they want to keep building that pipeline,” he said.

Ed Rinke Chevrolet-Buick-GMC brings in two Automotive Service Educational Program students each year, said Tyler Wegner, a service manager at the dealership in Center Line, Mich. The dealership currently has a second-year student working there, while another will begin the program in August.

Wegner is a graduate of the program, having started at the dealership changing oil. He was promoted to service manager after completing his bachelor’s degree in automotive management.

The dealership is short on technicians, he said, particularly for specialty work on heavy-vehicle engines and transmissions.

Cote said the technician program “was definitely the pathway that opened up the opportunities that I’ve had.”

He has expanded his skills through additional GM training, including becoming a GM world-class certified technician and certified to work on EVs. The program has helped him discover multiple long-term career opportunities in automotive service.

Cote said he thinks he would be “years and years behind” in his career if he had not learned the fundamentals of vehicle systems through GM’s Automotive Service Educational Program.

“It really helps advance how far you can go quicker,” he said. “It was a great foundation to then continue to work off of, and gave me a really great career path.”