{"id":110297,"date":"2015-08-12T16:12:42","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T22:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ex-skanska-mechanics-lead-automotive-program-at-sccc\/"},"modified":"2015-08-12T16:12:42","modified_gmt":"2015-08-12T22:12:42","slug":"ex-skanska-mechanics-lead-automotive-program-at-sccc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ex-skanska-mechanics-lead-automotive-program-at-sccc\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Skanska mechanics lead automotive program at SCCC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bill
Bill Kuik, at left, and Joe Jaburg are the newest hires at Southwest Colorado Community College. The two former Skanska employees will teach Automotive Service Technology. An open house for the Automotive Service Technology program will be held on Aug. 10 from 4-7 p.m. at the college.<\/span>Courtesy photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bill Kuik has 30 years of mechanical experience and started his career working on helicopters and small airplanes. He is a master mechanic and Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)-certified. Kuik worked on the heavy equipment at Skanska for 11 years.<\/p>\n

Joe Jaburg brings 23 years of mechanical experience and has certifications as both an ASE Master and a G1, which is for general maintenance and repair and also most recently worked for Skanska in Cortez.<\/p>\n

Last month, Skanska confirmed it was winding down operations in Cortez, as the international construction giant prepares to consolidate its western equipment facilities for its civil operations into one center in California.<\/p>\n

For Kuik and Jaberg, the timing of the open teaching positions at SCCC couldn\u2019t have been better. Additionally, leading the program is an ideal way for the two to share their acquired knowledge and experience with the younger generation of mechanics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought it was really exciting, we were all disappointed with what was happening with Skanska, it\u2019s a problem for all of Cortez and a really big deal. When I learned that college was looking for two new instructors, it sounded really exciting. We were like a couple kids hooting and hollering. Both of us were dancing on air,\u201d said Kuik with a laugh. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to share what you know and to utilize (experience) in that way is almost the next step from what we were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaburg agrees that making the transition from the shop to the classroom is an exciting prospect. Education is a path he\u2019s considered in the past, and he says Skanska closing gave him the push he needed to make the leap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited about it. When I knew Skanska was closing I got a job offer from another place I worked for previously. \u2026 This is something I\u2019ve wanted to do for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting some great students and hopefully will get them excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCCC\u2019s Automotive Service Technology program prepares students for a range of careers in automotive maintenance and repair. The program is accredited by the National Institute for Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, which covers all areas of ASE certification, a vital credential for a modern mechanic.<\/p>\n

Students that complete the program receive an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Service Technology and can earn as many as nine certificates and mini-certificates along the way.<\/p>\n

Jaburg and Kuik note that the program is ideal not only for new mechanics looking to enter an always-in-demand career, but for seasoned mechanics looking to brush up on new skills. Complete mechanical novices who are interested in learning what\u2019s going on under the hood of their car are also welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have classes ranging from to basic auto for someone who\u2019s never popped their hood before to advanced diagnostics,\u201d said Jaburg.<\/p>\n

An open house\/orientation to provide more information about the program and to give attendees the chance to meet both Jaburg and Kuik will take place 4-7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, in Room 101 at the SCCC-West Campus, located at 33057 Hwy. 160, between Mancos and Cortez. Enter on the west side of campus under the \u201cEnrollment\u201d sign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kuik, at left, and Joe Jaburg are the newest hires at Southwest Colorado Community College. The two former Skanska employees will teach Automotive Service Technology. An open house for the Automotive Service Technology program will be held on Aug. 10 from 4-7 p.m. at the college.Courtesy photo Bill Kuik has 30 years of mechanical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6363],"tags":[2275,188,13],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-110297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ds-news","tag-automotive-equipment","tag-dolores-star","tag-frontpage-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110297"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=110297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}