LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In an automotive garage in downtown Louisville, students barely out of high school try to work through staged automotive issues on a fleet of Toyota vehicles.
The garage is actually a classroom at Jefferson Community and Technical College. It's where students in the auto technician program are earning their certification -- many working toward an associates degree.
"It was that or business, so I chose this," said Joel Manguino.
Manguino graduated from Seneca High School in 2012. Unlike many of his friends who enrolled in four year colleges, the Louisville native decided on the unconventional route.
"A lot of my friends are four years at U of L or Bellarmine, and they're like, 'I've got $60,000 [in student loans]' and I'm like, 'zero'."
Manguino grew up in Louisville, but many of his classmates come from elsewhere. JCTC recruits students in six states including Tennessee, Illinois, and Michigan.
"We have a job before we go recruit," said program coordinator Mark Hyers. Hyers said they recruit for existing jobs, so every student has a job from the moment they start the program.
This year in Louisville, there were 70 auto technician openings. Classroom capacity allowed Hyers to fill 35 of those roles.
Often, the students start working while they're still in school. Each student can earn about $14,000 a year, according to Hyers, while tuition costs $11,000.
"The money they can earn while here in training will pay for their entire education," he said.
All will transition straight into full-time auto technician jobs upon graduation. Many will work for Toyota--a company that's partnered with the school since the 1980s.
"I really have no more training to do with them, they come out trained on the Toyota," says fixed operations director for Oxmoor Toyota Group Jay Middleton.
After less than two years in school, they are full time.
"It takes them only about six months to work up to a flat rate technician, where they're really able to make good money," said Middleton.
The next freshman class will start classes August 17, 2015.
For information on how to enroll in the auto technician program visit JCTC's website.
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