Beginning January 2016, Ivy Tech Community College Northeast will begin offering three diesel heavy truck courses within its Automotive Technology program. These include:

JAT of Fort Wayne has donated a semi-truck with a Detroit diesel engine, which allows Ivy Tech Northeast to begin offering diesel classes in spring 2016. From left: Automotive technology instructors David Jones and Nick Goodnight and automotive technology program chair Robert Huffman.

1. Introduction to Diesel Technology
2. Diesel Preventative Maintenance
3. Heavy Truck Brake Systems

“We have gotten multiple phone calls from local truck repair facilities and trucking companies looking for diesel technicians, so there’s a demand from the local employers,” says Robert Huffman, Automotive Technology program chair. “Additionally, we have had multiple inquiries from students wanting to take diesel courses, wanting to know if they were offered at the Fort Wayne campus, which they never were before.”

The new addition is made possible due in part to JAT of Fort Wayne, which donated a semi-truck with a Detroit diesel engine. JAT also plans to offer additional supplies including engines and transmissions.

“One major area of need has always been quality diesel technicians,” says Jared Thompson, JAT of Fort Wayne co-owner. “The goal at the end of the day is for the program to put out some quality technicians who can slip right into the work environment.”

From left: Automotive technology program chair Robert Huffman; technology division dean Darrel Kesler; Chancellor Jerrilee K. Mosier; JAT co-owners Jared Thompson and Jim Thompson; JAT shop manager Brian Arnold; and JAT maintenance manager Jim Minser.

From left: Automotive technology students Ryan Wells, Lane Hoeppner, Jordan Jodway, and Daniel Niño.

Click on images to zoom and for caption information.

Pending the Commission for Higher Education’s approval, the program also plans to offer a technical certificate in Diesel Heavy Truck that students complete in a short time frame. Students who complete the certificate will be able to transition into the automotive technology associate degree, if they so choose. The associate degree is a two-year program, while technical certificates are one-year programs designed to provide conceptual and technical skills for the workforce.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, graduates in the diesel field can expect to earn an average salary of nearly $22 an hour.

Those interested in learning more about diesel heavy truck courses and/or the technical certificate can contact Robert Huffman, automotive technology chair, at rhuffman10@ivytech.edu or 260-481-2247.