Onondaga Community College’s new Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair program is preparing students for careers in an industry where sophisticated technology is creating a growing need for skilled technicians.
Alaina Kelsey knows what it feels like to be the only woman in the room. She also knows she belongs there.
The 19-year-old Onondaga Central High School graduate is spending her first semester in OCC’s brand-new Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair program, learning how to diagnose and repair the increasingly sophisticated trucks and heavy equipment that keep Central New York moving. She is also pursuing a degree in Automotive Technology. And one day, she wants to own her own shop. “I like cars, and I used to help my dad work on cars,” Kelsey said. “I went to school for psychology and realized I liked working on cars more, so I came here.”
Kelsey started in OCC’s Automotive Technology program last semester before adding Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair this fall. She now works at B&B Automotive on Brighton Hill, where she focuses on school buses and commercial vehicles. Her experiences confirm she made the right choice, even if she sometimes faces additional challenges. “I definitely do see a lot in this field - the men in the field try to do our jobs for us as a woman. I feel like I can do it too!”
She isn't alone. Kelsey is one of the students helping launch OCC's new two-year Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair A.A.S. degree program during its first semester. And the timing couldn't be better. Across the commercial and heavy equipment industry, the machines technicians work on are becoming more technologically advanced. Modern trucks and heavy equipment can feature driverless technologies, electronic suspension systems, advanced radar collision avoidance and guidance systems, microcomputer-controlled heating and air conditioning, and increasingly complex electrical and electronic components.
The days when being a technician simply meant knowing how to use a wrench are long gone. Today’s technicians need to understand how mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems work together - and have the diagnostic skills to figure out what happens when they don't. That's where OCC's newest program comes in.
Located in a newly constructed area of the the Whitney Applied Technology Center, the program combines classroom instruction with extensive hands-on laboratory experience. Students train using computer-based diagnostic equipment and work directly with the systems they will encounter in the field. They will also complete 400 hours of work experience before graduating.
Professor Dave Lindsley helped build the program from the ground up after spending his career in the industry - first as a mechanic and eventually in management at Verizon. He rose through the ranks to oversee much of the company's vehicle maintenance operation in New York State, managing a team of 90 mechanics, five specialists, and six fleet managers.
After accepting a retirement package from Verizon, Lindsley took a year off. Then he decided to teach. “I developed the classes last semester,” Lindsley said. “As I teach, I’ve been changing things.”
Last semester, he taught one laboratory course in Automotive Technology. This year is his first teaching full-time on his own, and his first opportunity to see how the program he created works with students. His classroom includes a big Freighliner truck, loaned to OCC by Tracey Road Equipment. During a recent suspensions class, students had the opportunity to work on the truck rather than simply read about it. Next semester, this truck will be replaced by another one. “It keeps us updated on current technology so when students go to work, they will see what they were working on here,” Lindsley said.
For students, that connection to the real world is one of the biggest draws. Jackson Gwynn, 20, graduated from Cicero-North Syracuse High School and now works in the Heavy Truck Shop at Davidson Ford. He works on everything from F-250s to F-850s. He came to OCC after seeing the kind of opportunities available to trained technicians. “I saw that Milton CAT was hiring new technicians right out of school for $38 an hour and thought, ‘Let’s do this,’” Gwynn said.
Gwynn is working toward a certificate in Automotive Technology while taking the Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair classes. For him, choosing a skilled trade wasn't settling for less, but making an educated decision about his future. “I feel smart,” he said. “I see people going to $60, $70 thousand dollar schools and not getting jobs.”
He also sees what happens when an aging workforce needs to be replaced. “Everybody was told as kids, ‘Go to college, get a degree, and you’ll get a good job.’ Now we see people working in trades approaching retirement, and there’s nobody there to replace them. I feel I did the right thing coming here for this.”
Donavan Boland understands the appeal of the work for a different reason. The 21-year-old Jamesville-DeWitt High School graduate originally enrolled in OCC's Automotive Technology program. He switched to Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair because he wanted something bigger and harder. “I thought this would be more my style than working on small cars,” Boland said. “I absolutely love it. It’s the most fun I’ve had in school, and I’m not somebody who loves school.”
Boland isn't sure exactly where the training will take him. He is considering joining the military and working on its big trucks. He has also considered underwater welding. But he knows what he wants from his career. “I wanted the hardest things nobody is willing to do.”
For eligible adult students, there is an additional incentive. Commercial/Heavy Equipment Service Repair is one of the programs offered through SUNY Reconnect, New York State's tuition-free community college program for adults ages 25 to 55 who have not yet earned a college degree. The program provides students with a pathway to develop skills in a field where employers need qualified technicians.
You can learn more about this direct-to-career program by visiting its dedicated page on the OCC website.
