SIERRA VISTA — Cochise College’s automotive program will be moving to the former Ideal Motors location when spring semester classes begin in January, thanks to a partnership with Lawley Automotive.
The automotive building and lot, located on Highway 92, will provide the college’s program with more space, centralized resources and wider class offerings.
Automotive instructor James Krause, who is holding the flashlight, teaches students at classroom space provided by Lawley Ford. The college’s automotive program will be moving into the former Ideal Motors dealership, now owned by Lawley, in January. (Photo by Denise Hoyos)
“I think it’s important because the college can grow in it,” said Sean Lawley, owner of Lawley Automotive. “The other thing I’m hoping is that the technicians they train will want to stay around town and work for one of our dealerships or another shop in town. If Cochise can train them, we can hire them.”
Cochise College’s automotive program started in 2005 with evening classes held at the RPM Car Center on Fort Huachuca. It then expanded to facilities at the Cochise County Complex in Bisbee, as well as a parts class held at Lawley Ford. These partnerships fostered success; there is currently a waiting list to get into the program.
However, the impracticality of classroom space being spread out over the county and working with facilities that are in use during the daytime meant the program would probably not have an adequate chance to grow.
“Having everything in one facility and making an investment in it, we can run a daytime and evening program, offer more classes and increase our enrollment,” said Bruce Richardson, the college’s Dean of Business and Technology. “This will also enable us to provide our own equipment for much more convenience for our students. We’ll be purchasing up-to-date, state-of-the-art equipment, and our students will be trained on the equipment they’ll see in the workforce.”
The possibility of moving into the new space began in the summer, when automotive instructor James Krause called Lawley, his former employer, to ask what he planned to do with the lot purchased in 2011 after the Ideal dealership closed. Krause began teaching part-time for Cochise College in 2007 and has been the full-time automotive instructor since 2012. He worked at Lawley for 12 years as an automotive technician and worked his way up to shop foreman.
“I went through a program like the one we’re trying to develop here,” Krause said of the GM ASEP program through Glendale Community College. “What I’m after is not losing our Cochise County students to places like Phoenix, UTI and WyoTech. We want to develop something that’s in competition to keep our workforce in Cochise County and even draw from other states.”
Industry support is key in succeeding in that goal. In mid November, dozens of automotive industry representatives from across Cochise County met at the college’s Sierra Vista Campus to discuss the future of the program.
“It’s more important than ever that these guys are trained,” Lawley said. “A car’s a car, as far as the brakes, the engine; but these things are computerized and everything is run electronically. That training isn’t the same as it was 20 years ago. Everything now is done using diagnostic equipment.”
The former Ideal building is undergoing renovations to make space for traditional classrooms alongside training areas in anticipation of classes starting Jan. 13. Richardson said students currently enrolled in the automotive evening program will continue on that schedule, but space is available for daytime students interested in enrolling in the program this spring. For more information about the automotive program, visit www.cochise.edu or call (520) 515-5418.