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Press Release
Miami Dade College offers Florida's first Tesla START training program for service technicians
Miami, Feb. 15, 2019 – Miami Dade College (MDC) is the first institution in the Southeastern United States to partner with Tesla to offer a certificate training program for service technicians called Tesla START. The leader in electric car design and manufacturing will train students as technicians at a new facility being built at the College’s West Campus.
“I’m very proud that MDC was chosen to offer this one-of-a-kind program in the Southeast,” said MDC’s President Eduardo J. Padrón. “This will expand opportunities for many students in the emerging electric vehicle industry and I am certain this initiative will have a positive impact on our community which is the perfect place for it.”
The Tesla START Student Automotive Technician Program, scheduled to begin at MDC in the fall, is an accelerated 12-week program that pays students while they are trained to become an electric vehicle technician. Tesla provides the vehicles, equipment, instructor, tools and curriculum for hands-on learning. Following successful completion of the program, students have the opportunity to be work as a full-time employee at a Tesla service center.
“MDC is focused on creating new programs to better serve the needs of the community,” stated Dr. John Wensveen, MDC Vice Provost of Academic Schools. “This strategic partnership with Tesla will increase opportunities to recruit, train, retain, and employ locally, serving the emerging field of alternative energy with a focus on electric vehicle technology.”
MDC is one of only six colleges nationwide to implement Tesla START, which is the company’s way of working with automotive programs through the US to educate students on electric vehicle technology and prepare them for a career at Tesla. Tesla collaborates with graduates to place them at Tesla Service Centers in from Coral Gables to Tampa in South Florida and across North America. Over 125 students have graduated from the Tesla START program nationally to date.
Details about the program will be announced at the eMerge Americas technology conference to be held April 29-30. Up to 12 students will be selected by Tesla over the summer for the first class. Moving forward, three cohorts of 16 students will graduate from the program each year.
“This is a great program that prepares our students for the jobs of the future,” added Antonio Delgado, dean of the School of Engineering, Technology and Design (EnTec).
MDC’s EnTec offers a variety of degree and certificate programs, including unique opportunities and access to in-demand and growing industries, such as cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing, and AR/VR. With input from top industry partners including Florida Power & Light, IBM by Cisco, and AWS, to name a few, courses deliver the education that the nation’s top employers are looking for. For more information about the Tesla START program, visit www.mdc.edu/tesla or contact us at tesla@mdc.edu.
MDC Media-only contacts: Juan Mendieta, MDC director of communications, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu; Hessy Fernandez, director of media relations, 305-237-3949, hfernan5@mdc.edu; Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu, Allison Horton, 305-237-3359, ahorton2@mdc.edu; or Norma Ardila, 305-237-3607, nardila@mdc.edu.
This and other MDC releases are available on the web at www.mdc.edu.
