Brake Technicians and Wheel Alignment Technicians Obtain Training in One Program
Brake technicians and wheel alignment technicians find work with:
vehicle and parts manufacturers, dealers, garage retailers, governments,
corporations with their own fleets and through self-employment. Today's
sophisticated vehicles require specialists to maintain and repair their
complex systems, and ensure that the braking system and steering wheels
in vehicles meet appropriate safety standards. Therefore, among the
responsibilities of brake and alignment technicians are providing
service that includes operating equipment such as grinders, brake lathes
and bleeders, hoists, alignment machines, strut compressors, air guns,
bearing packers, and installing brakes, shocks, struts and front end
parts. They are also required to test drive customer vehicles.
As
a student in the Alignment and Brake Technician
apprenticeship at Centennial College — through courses such as
Work Practices, Suspension & Steering Systems; Tires, Wheels, Hubs
& Alignment, and Brakes Systems, and on-the-job training — you will
gain in-depth knowledge of wheel and steering systems and their relation
to vehicle control and stability. The program also covers service and
repair for all types of braking systems.
But what makes this
brake technician and alignment technician program unique? Well, it is
divided into three training periods of 1,800 hours with an employer and
two eight-week college sessions. During the in-school sessions students
work out of the largest training centre in the province, Ashtonbee
Campus. This facility includes the latest technology and real cars that
have been donated to the College. Helping students to become qualified
professionals are professors who possess up-to-date experience and
knowledge of the industry. The in-school portion of the Alignment and
Brake Technician program is geared to on-the-job learning to ensure that
students are well trained enter the field upon completion. In addition,
during their time studying to be a brake technician and wheel alignment technician,
students may be eligible to qualify for income support through
Employment Insurance Canada benefits or training allowance.
Meanwhile,
the time that is spent with an employer allows students the opportunity
to apply what they have learned while working alongside seasoned
professionals in a real-life setting. This setting also exposes students
to situations with which they may have deal upon graduation — including
difficult customers, customers whose first language is not English, and
an array of other scenarios.
To apply, students must have an
Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent. They must also be
employed as an apprenticeship. Lastly, students cannot apply directly to
the college or ontariocolleges.ca for admission. To learn more about
the application process, check out the Alignment Technician
admission requirements page.
