Madison-Oneida BOCES, Nye Automotive team up for hands-on Automotive Technology course

Nye Automotive Group Service Technician Alex Hyman recalls that taking a Madison-Oneida BOCES Automotive Technology course a few years ago at the Oneida dealership truly gave him an inside view of the industry.

"It gave me a good look at where I could see myself in the future," the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School class of 2019 graduate said. "It was a huge opportunity and it showed me the good with the bad. Even before I graduated high school I decided I could see myself doing this as a career."

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Hyman interned for Master Technician Brian Light in Nye's Toyota service center. He credited Light for being "totally unfiltered" when it came to showing him the daily routine. Once he decided the job was something he wanted to pursue, Hyman told Light his decision and asked if Light felt he would be an asset to the company.

Today, Hyman has also graduated from Toyota's T-TEN automotive training apprenticeship program at Monroe Community College in Rochester and is right back in Nye's Toyota service bays.

"I learn something new every single day," Hyman said. "I just love pulling stuff apart to see what is missing."

Light said the Automotive Technology course gives BOCES and Nye the chance to train the technicians of the future, while giving students the chance to discover for themselves if they want to stick with the job.

"This gives them real-life experience and prepares them for their future," Light explained. "We take care of the unknowns for them. I am excited to be a part of this and to be able to pass along what I know to the students."

Madison-Oneida BOCES Public Relations Coordinator Sapna Kollali said their Automotive Technology course embedded at Nye Automotive starting with the 2018-2019 school year. Auto Tech is a two-year program, she explained, with juniors completing their traditional classroom program on the Verona campus and seniors going to Nye.

There have been 59 total students who have gone to Nye Automotive, including the current class, Kollali said. In its four years, the program has grown from 10 students to the current 18 and they anticipate as many as 26 next year, she added.

"This is always a popular class but the embedded aspect has helped attract more students," Kollali explained.

Nye Automotive has so far offered employment to 10 of the students who completed the program, and has also sponsored several students to complete college programs and dealership certification programs, she said. At Nye, students rotate through the GMC, Toyota, Ford and Chrysler dealerships. All students work in all sites, usually for six-week blocks at a time.

Madison-Oneida BOCES has also offered embedded programs for New Visions Government, Law and Public Administration at the Madison County offices in Wampsville since September 2019; Auto Collision Repair at Carstar Davidson Collision in Rome since September 2021; and Allied Health Partnership through Oneida Healthcare for more than 20 years.

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Madison-Oneida BOCES Automotive Instructor Phil Maitland teaches the course at Nye Automotive. He said it was created in response to a serious need in the industry for service technicians and the Nye dealership came right on board when approached with the idea.

"There is really no better way to groom the workforce of tomorrow," Maitland said. "We bring them here at a young age to show them what it is like in a real hands-on environment. For me, this is all about giving the kids the chance to focus on deciding what they really want to do."

Elizabeth Griffiths is an Oneida High School senior currently taking the course. She said it gives her the opportunity to expand beyond simply working on her own vehicle to see what it would be like to actually work in auto mechanics for a living.

Guided by the experienced Nye technicians, Griffiths said she likes what she has seen so far.

"I really like being able to work on their customers' vehicles to see where the problems are," Griffiths said. "I think this will definitely lead to future job offers for me. I definitely would like to do this as a career."

Mike Jaquays is the community news reporter for the Mid-York Weekly. Email him at mjaquays@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Madison-Oneida BOCES, Nye Automotive team up for Auto Tech course