DENVER — Tires, tools, and future auto technicians are all inside Montbello Career and Technical High School.
Amid a statewide and nationwide auto technician shortage, these students are learning the tools of the trade to eventually build and repair electric and gas vehicles.
"We're short 100,000 technicians nationwide, and probably about 10,000 of them here in this state. And it's really helpful when you have a situation like COVID where people are holding on to their cars for longer and longer and really need service that we can keep these cars running efficiently on the road," said Matthew Groves, CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.
Montbello Career and Technical High School partners with Emily Griffin Technical College to help students earn an automotive service excellence (ASE) certification. The program is broken up into three areas: electrical systems, engine performance, and brakes/steering/suspension.
"Montbello Career and Tech is typically for students that are off track in credits and maybe haven't been so successful at their home high school. So seeing the auto shop and some of the hands-on work that can be done every day kind of re-energizes students to be back in school or helps them with their post-secondary plans," said Montbello Career and Technical High School CTE pathway director Erik Andersen. "A lot of them want to move into the industry right away, or some want to continue in college and pursue automotive that way."
The auto shop holds both new and old cars, including an electric Chevy Bolt that was donated by Hertz in 2023.
"We are the only high school automotive program with an EV in Denver Public Schools," said Anderson.
On Feb. 18, Hertz visited students to discuss future career paths and scholarship opportunities. The rental car company also brought in a Tesla and Kia EV for students to check out.
"The overall goal is to provide access to this technology. And having that access, it increases these students' marketability as they enter the workforce. It really sets them up for success," said Craig Hayes, Hertz senior director of strategic operations and impact programs.
For many students, this was the first time they were able to see these electric vehicles up close.
"Not every car is going to be an electric vehicle, but there's that opportunity they're going to be working on one," said Hayes. "I think just that excitement, awareness, that knowledge, and seeing them, they're seeing some cars they've never touched, right? We were talking with the students, and they had an opportunity to play around with two cars that they never had before."
Andersen said the school is working to build its electric vehicle curriculum.
"Hertz talks about the percent of the industry that's going to be strictly electric vehicles in the next 10 to 15 years, so we're really trying to prepare students for where the industry is going, not where it was," Anderson said.
Students told Denver7 that this course is crucial in helping them pursue careers in an industry that is experiencing a shortage.
"I think accessibility is important for sure because in the future when I'm in the field, I'm obviously going to be working on all sorts of the type of cars. I could be working on newer cars or older cars, and having this wide array of newer cars, older cars, even EV is going to be detrimental for me because it's going to give me more experience with them. I can know what I'm going to do," said Deron Salomon, a junior at Montbello Career and Technical High School.
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