Jan. 25, 2019—As part of teaching his students how to repair cars in a realistic workplace, Greg Sagodic knows he needs to give them real repairs to complete, reports Allegan News.
Sagodic teaches the two-year automotive technology program at the Allegan County Area Technical and Education Center and said he has had his students work on the community’s cars for about the last decade.
“I work on creating an environment here that’s just like the real world,” Sagodic told Alegan News last week. “It’s real life work; it matters if everything’s done right because someone is going to be out driving that car.
“The school superintendent’s car is right there; we’re working on it right now.”
The school has 45 students between the morning and afternoon sessions, reports Allegan News. The two-year program students can begin as juniors; if they complete the testing, they earn an ASC student certification.
“That’s recognized throughout the nation. They could take that and work anywhere,” he told Allegan News, noting that of those second-year students who took the tests, they had a 90 percent pass-rate. “It’s also prep for post-secondary education, so they could go to a technical training school or straight out into industry.”
Sagodic said the school and students make no profit from the service. They charge for parts, which they buy locally, but don’t charge for labor, reports Allegan News.
