Calhoun Community College to partner with Ford Motor Company for pilot summer automotive academy

June 3, 2019

Decatur, AL – The demand for highly-trained automotive technicians continues to escalate across our region, and in an effort to fill this employment gap, Calhoun Community College is partnering with Ford Motor Company and Woody Anderson Ford to offer Ford’s pilot Summer Automotive Academy. The free academy targets area boys and girls in 7th and 8th grades, and will be held this Tuesday – Thursday, June 4-6, at Woody Anderson Ford, 2500 Jordan Lane in Huntsville.

According to Lewis Nall, academy organizer and Calhoun Automotive Technician program director, the camp will give students an up-close look into the career field through hands-on experiences with combustion engines, diagnostics, electric/hybrid vehicles, and autonomous vehicles, and will include a field trip to NASA on the last day.

“We are extremely excited with the opportunity to partner with Ford Motor Company and Woody Anderson Ford in this pilot program,” commented Nall. “During the academy, the students will even be able to build engine models as well as a robot car,” Nall added.

Ford is developing the summer pilot academy in partnership with Calhoun, with plans to duplicate it and share it with Ford dealerships across the country. “We see this as a good way to get high schools, colleges and industry all on the same page and to eventually help fill the employment gap we are seeing in the automotive technician field,” said Nall.

Nall says that executives and engineers from Ford’s corporate office, as well as representatives from Woody Anderson Ford, are expected to attend the academy and interact with the students.