Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC)

The Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) is a consortium of over 50 colleges partners and 30 corporate manufacturing companies working to strengthen the competency and global competitiveness of the automotive manufacturing workforce. The consortium creates and sustains an innovative, responsive and standards-based workforce development system that meets the skill requirements of the auto industry. Business/industry partnerships are created to validate the skills and knowledge required by multi-skilled manufacturing and transportation technicians and to deliver the technical education that meets the high-priority needs of the automotive manufacturers, suppliers and dealers. The impact of the Center is increased through mentoring of other colleges that are establishing automotive manufacturing and transportation technician programs. The Center and its partners create a transportable and updateable model for automotive manufacturing and transportation technician education through the use of a DACUM/Delphi process and the use of electronic technologies. A pipeline of educated workers is built on models that successfully recruit high school students into two-year college programs and also articulate with programs in four-year colleges. Research on technology is transferred to the applied stage through workshops for two-year college faculty provided by four-year college partners. The evaluation of the Center includes assessing its impact on the automotive industry, on community college practice and on student recruitment, retention and placement.