AIS Opens High School Course for Technicians in Michigan

The new program is part of a partnership with AIS Construction Equipment. The company will run the classes at its Williamsburg facility at 8300 M-72 East. The company, headquartered in Lansing, already partners with seven school districts across the state.

What sets the Traverse City program apart is that students will have access to logging equipment in addition to the earthmoving machines, like bulldozers, excavators and backhoes, available in the other AIS educational partnerships.

Without diesel engine training, Randy Petkovsek, AIS service manager in Traverse City, said that most new hires have a small-engine repair background and have a “steep learning curve” when they move to diesel engines.

AIS is still creating the space, behind the current workshop, where students will be working and studying this fall. Students will focus on diesel machinery components that fall into four categories: engines, hydraulics, electrical and drivetrains.

Students will experience a “real work” setting and Ralph Hansen, AIS education director, said students respond to that serious environment.

“Whatever switch gets flipped, like it does when you walk into a church or into a synagogue or something like that, that you know you’ve got to behave a certain way and it seems to happen here as well,” Hansen said.

North Ed will transport students from the Career Tech Center to AIS, then AIS will provide the tools, instruction, and space for the class.

North Ed hopes for at least 40 to 50 students to enroll – with 20 to 25 in each of the morning and afternoon sessions.

Pat Lamb said he thinks they can achieve that goal. According to Lamb, there were about 25 students enrolled in the two sessions as of last week.

He said those numbers reflect the 10th-grade students who toured the Career Tech Center and enrolled right away. Those numbers will go up as students prepare for next year or take their second choice program at the center if their first choice, like the popular auto mechanics program, has a waiting list, he said.

A North Ed survey of 10th-graders found that roughly 18 percent of 435 respondents listed this program as a top choice if they were to attend North Ed’s Career Tech Center.

“So I feel really good that we’ll have minimally 40, but probably 50 kids,” Lamb said.

Anthony Wieber, corporate training director at AIS Construction Equipment Corp., spoke of Michigan’s need for trained workers in the field.

“The graduates of these programs help to meet the tremendous need for adequately prepared diesel technicians and mechanics – not only for AIS, but for the entire diesel equipment industry in Michigan,” Wieber said in a statement.

The new program was developed in part, to help address a regional need for diesel mechanics. North Ed held an advisory committee meeting on Nov. 24 last year to examine the issue.

The advisory meetings which included representatives from AIS, Traverse City Public Schools’ Transportation Department, the Michigan Department of Transportation and Workforce Development Coordinator, Valley Truck Parts, Grand Traverse Road Commission, Dean Transportation and Ferris State, which offers a post-secondary program, gave organizations a chance to discuss the issue.

“It was quite apparent from those folks that attended this meeting that there was a huge need for mechanics in that field,” Lamb said.

According to Michigan Works! 2024 Hot Jobs Report, job openings for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists were expected to grow 13.9% in 2024, with 219 annually. They estimate the median hourly wage is $20.38, or $42,390 annually.

Lamb said North Ed wants to ensure all regional employers have the opportunity to engage with the students. The intermediate school district made sure industry partners were part of the advisory meetings to gather information and feedback about the proposed course.

Lamb said he wasn’t concerned about students having limited access to other opportunities and doesn’t want their industry partners to be concerned. He said he believes AIS wants to train a “mechanic workforce.”

Hansen said that while AIS hopes the program will encourage some students to stay on with the company, the program itself is designed to provide students the opportunity to engage with other employers.

During the courses, other manufacturers, dealerships and companies are welcome to come in and talk to students, Petkovsek said.

Petkovsek said that if students express an interest in working for someone else, they hope to help get them placed.

“I think it’s for the industry, I think it’s for the students, for the future, for the youth,” he said.

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