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Bean Automotive Group and Miami Dade College (MDC), with support from Career Source South Florida and Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s Miami Community Ventures (MCV) initiative, launched the dealership’s first Automotive Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program last year.
The program seeks to create new opportunities in a competitive automotive service industry that is constantly searching for top talent. The first program of its kind for Miami Dade College also, the innovative partnership will educate and train the automotive technicians of tomorrow.
The one-year, 220-hour paid apprenticeship offered free tuition, health insurance, books and tools, and involved classroom instruction and on-the-job training to give qualifying students the opportunity to get paid while learning the skills necessary to graduate as professional auto technician specialists.
On Sept. 16, the program’s inaugural class conducted its graduation ceremony at Bean Automotive Group corporate offices. The first graduating class received an Automotive Technician Specialist certification from the Florida Department of Education and will carry through continued employment at Bean Automotive Group with a fast-track career path towards advanced ASE certifications.
“We don’t always get the chance to do something great while we’re doing something good,” said William D. Talbert, interim president and CEO, Miami-Dade Beacon Council. “But this apprenticeship program not only graduates some much-needed certified automotive technician specialists, but it also creates strong career pathways for those who need it most.
“That’s why Mike Finney was so committed to its success. Partnerships like these allow us to do something great for these individuals and their families while we establish programs that keep our talent pipeline future-ready — and that’s good for Miami-Dade as a whole.”
Also in attendance was Mr. Finney’s widow, Gina, who was presented with a personalized mechanics’ shirt, naming Mike as an honorary member of the graduating class.
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