By Eileen Moon
MIDDLETOWN – Building on a relationship that has benefited students for many years, Brookdale Community College is entering a formal partnership with Ray Catena Auto Group that will fully prepare Brookdale’s automotive technology students for a well-paying career in the automotive industry following graduation from the college’s two-year associate degree program.
While Brookdale has long had a training partnership with General Motors, its partnership with Ray Catena is its first direct training partnership with an automotive dealership, and one that may be a first in the state for
a community college.
“This is the first that we know of,” said Brookdale president David Stout. Representatives from Ray Catena have long served on Brookdale’s advisory board, where they have helped keep the auto tech program in harmony with the needs of an increasingly complex field.
And many of the luxury auto group’s employees are graduates of Brookdale’s auto tech programs.
Establishing the partnership is a major step forward, said Stout. “This is a great example of partnerships that can exist between community colleges and private industry.
“We’ve developed such a strong relationship with Ray Catena that they are willing to really build this pathway into a career in the industry. We predict that because of the reputation of Ray Catena, this is going to draw a lot of interest.”
Under the partnership agreement, students in the auto tech program become eligible to intern with Ray Catena in their second year of study at Brookdale. The paid internships provide students with the opportunity to work side by side with master technicians who provide hands-on training that goes far beyond the basics, bridging the critical gap between theory and practice.
Among the largest privately owned dealerships in the nation, Ray Catena Auto Group has 23 locations in New Jersey, representing luxury auto brands that include Lexus, Land Rover, BMW, Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, Infiniti, Mini, Audi, Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
Photo courtesy BCC
“We are obviously a high-end dealership,” said Christopher Gioffre, service director for Ray Catena’s southern New Jersey dealerships. “It’s important for us to make sure we have the best of the best.”
Students accepted into the Ray Catena program begin working part time for the auto group while they’re still in school. After graduation, the students have the opportunity to work full time for Ray Catena, earning bonuses and reimbursements for tools and tuition as they progress. “We are looking to sustain a long-term relationship with them,” Gioffre said. “It does take time to develop these young men and women as master technicians. I need them to learn to diagnose and repair vehicles in every capacity. Our main goal in this business is to make sure they can have a career. I consider these young people my kids. I have a son and daughter near their ages and I would fully expect their parents to know that we’re going to take really good care of their children. We’re going to give them the guidance they need.”
The auto group plans to offer two internships per year at each one of their dealerships. The students selected should feel right at home, Gioffre said. “We have a massive amount of Brookdale graduates that have been working for us for 10 or 12 years. Fourteen or 15 of our 22 techs are Brookdale graduates. The technical staff at Brookdale is very good. They’re train- ing them the right way.”
In today’s highly technical environment, automotive technicians need a range of skills that include verbal and written communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and an understanding of the complexities of the on-the-road vehicles that are basically moving computers, Gioffre said.
“Technology is ever-changing and it’s not going backwards,” said Ivan Anderson, coordinator of Brookdale’s automotive technology program. “The students in our engineering programs are the same students we need in auto tech.” Today’s vehicles are high-speed computers, Anderson noted, and having the knowledge and skills to repair and maintain them requires both intellect and hands-on capability.
It’s a career field that’s wide open, Anderson said. “Every single auto repair facility will tell you that they need people desperately.”
“The blame comes down to years of discounting ‘blue collar’ careers in favor of ‘white collar’ stuff,” Anderson said. “Now we’re paying the price for it. We need to attract more people to the program and train them for good-paying jobs.
“What Ray Catena has done is set a bar. They offer a very good reward for putting in the effort. I have a friend who has worked for them for 20 years and they do treat their employees very well.”
The partnership with Ray Catena is a win-win for Brookdale as well as for the auto group, said Stout.
“It’s to their (Ray Catena’s) advantage to have a skilled workforce and it’s a great benefit for our students,” Stout said. “It fits so well into a core part of our mission.”
