San Marcos dealership trains high school students in auto tech skills

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – San Marcos Toyota has a new program that exposes high school students to careers as automotive technicians. 

Like many industries, the automotive industry struggled to recruit and retain talented technicians after the COVID-19 pandemic. Then San Marcos Toyota service director Sean Moore saw an opportunity to build a solid team. 

“During COVID, there were a lot of dealerships that all of a sudden didn't have technicians, and we didn't have a source to grow technicians overnight,” Moore said. “This [program] is really the long play for a dealership – to get invested in the community at the high school level and get kids excited about working at a dealership.”

Not only does it help a dealership build a team, but Moore said he thinks it is important to let students know there are post-high school options outside of going to a four-year college that can lead to a successful profession. 

“Five or six years from now, they're going to be inviting me to their housewarming party, because they've just bought their first house at 22 years old. They've got no college debt, they're making $35 an hour here and doing great things,” Moore said.

Moore has been running the program for around 18 months, and it partners with local high schools, including San Marcos High School and New Braunfels High School.

Once a student has graduated high school and is still interested in pursuing a career as an automotive technician, Moore said they will be well-positioned to transition into additional training at the Austin Community College program.

ACC has a program called the Toyota T‑TEN program, which provides a pipeline for students to train and apply for careers with Toyota and Lexus upon completion. In addition to the high school students working at the shop, Moore said ACC students are working at San Marcos Toyota as a part of the college program. 

“I think there's a lot of other career paths other than just four-year colleges. I think there's just a lot of options, and you don't want to overlook those options,” said Nathan Harris, a New Braunfels High School senior working at San Marcos Toyota.