HARRISBURG – HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, has been awarded a 2010 Buick Enclave through General Motors’ corporate donations program to assist in the GM Automotive Service Education Program (ASEP) offered at the college.
“We are proud to support training programs that prepare the next generation of GM technicians,” said Brad Busboom, GM ASEP and Automotive Youth Education Systems program manager.
GM also donates engines, transmissions, transfer cases for four-wheel drive, differentials and other parts, as well as numerous cars for the students to work on, said Jeff Gieniec, HACC automotive technology instructor for the program, which is housed at the Sen. John J. Schumaker Public Safety Center, adjacent to the Harrisburg Campus. “We break ‘em, we fix ‘em, we break ‘em, we fix ‘em,” he said of the hands-on learning process.
HACC and GM have been educational partners for nearly 30 years, with Central Pennsylvania’s Community College offering the GM Technician Training Program since 1982 and adding the associate degree ASEP program in 1988. HACC students in the ASEP program work and learn on the job through the GM Training Network, which incorporates advanced automotive technical training with a strong academic foundation, and analytical and technical skills that are GM specific. Successful graduates earn an associate in applied science degree.
HACC automotive instructors spend hours training on GM-specific classes to remain current in evolving technologies, including hybrids, said Mike Salisbury, auto technology professor who was instrumental in developing the GM ASEP program for HACC.
HACC also is a satellite training facility for GM, with many service technicians in the region using the program for training and continuing education.
For more information about HACC’s automotive technology programs, go to www.hacc.edu and search “Automotive Technology.”
