Automotive trade school Ohio Technical College announced The Rich Evans Academy - a three-month advanced collision repair and customizing program where students will learn fabrication, welding, waterborne painting and fiberglass molding, among other advanced skills.
Rich Evans, owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks in California, is a custom car builder, painter and TV personality who has appeared on such shows as "Monster Garage" and "Pimp My Ride." As part of the new partnership, he will work with OTC to develop a real-world curriculum based on decades of experience designing and building one-of-a-kind vehicles. Evans will also assist OTC in outfitting the Rich Evans Academy shop with the tools, training aids and equipment needed to facilitate the program.
"At Ohio Technical College, we believe in offering training for the real world that will help prepare our students for successful and rewarding careers in today's ever-changing automotive industry," said Tom King, director of Enrollment, OTC. "The new Rich Evans Academy is an advanced, concentrated course designed to give students employable skills that many of their peers will not have after graduation. We are excited to partner with Rich, who shares his years of experience with our students as well as our instructors."
Evans will periodically visit the school to interact with students and conduct personal instruction. He will also teach a one-day training program at OTC's Summer Seminar, an event that attracts hundreds of high school instructors from across the country.
Founded in 1969, Ohio Technical College provides students with unique training in a variety of transportation fields. Last year, the school's enrollment grew 22 percent, and more than 1,000 students are currently enrolled in courses like automotive, diesel, classic car restoration, alternative fuel vehicles and high performance and racing.
The first Rich Evans Academy class will begin in Fall 2010. As with all its programs, OTC will provide career placement assistance for students upon completion of the three-month course.
For more information, write to Ohio Technical College at 1374 E. 51st St. Cleveland, Ohio, 44103; call 800-322-7000 ext. 163; or visit ohiotechnicalcollege.com and psi-now.com.
