News Photo by Jordan Spence Anthony Barnes inspects a truck at the Alpena Community College Auto Service garage Monday.

ALPENA — Anthony Barnes has always liked to work on tangible projects.

The Alpena resident used to be a tank mechanic while he served in the Army. Now he works toward his auto service certification at Alpena Community College.

“If I fix something I can see the labor I put into it. I’m not just sitting there twiddling my thumbs,” he said.

Barnes now works at Thunder Bay Chrysler as a new technician. He said the certification will help him advance in his career.

The one year auto service program focuses on five areas of certification: brakes, steering and suspension, electrical, engine performance and climate control, instructor Peter Eastwood said.

Techs are in short supply and Eastwood said every year he receives multiple calls from employers who need workers.

The program has classes every day during the week and there is about one hour of lecture for every three hours of lab time. There is space for 18 students with two instructors.

The college does have a large garage for the students to work on actually vehicles.

“If you have a vehicle that doesn’t get driven anywhere, and is practiced on the nuts and bolts come apart easily. But, when you work on a vehicle doing its job of transporting people around, the nuts and bolts get seized together by rust. Other things develop that it would be hard to imagine or recreate,” Eastwood said.

The students then do a lot of brake line repairs all year long because it’s common.

Barnes said this practice has been helpful.

“I used to attend college in Colorado Springs and they would use the ‘dummy’ vehicles. It’s way better here working on the real ones. Here (Eastwood) knows what he’s talking about and he’s great at what he does,” Barnes said.

To take education to a level higher, Eastwood begins lessons in diagnostics right away.

“Working again on a real problem, sometimes one that is passed around the community without success. It makes it more enriched in terms of the experience for the students,” Eastwood said.

The cars used are ones owned by the public. They only charge for the parts, not for the labor, so it’s a savings for the customer, Eastwood said.

He said it’s to watch the students progress in the program during the year is interesting.

“We have people anywhere who might already have a little certification, a little bit of industry experience. To those who only have ambition,” he said.

If students wish, they also are able to attend Ferris State University as a junior if they receive an associate degree in applied science from ACC.

“This sets things up so that students enter as a valuable employee so they can do basic services and so on, based on their ability and what they show themselves capable of they rise in their meaningfulness to that organization quite quickly,” he said.

Eastwood said if anyone would like to attend the program they can arrange for advisement and registration at 358-7241 or email at eastwoodp@alpenaacc.edu

Jordan Spence can be reached via email at jspence@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.