Subaru partners with Mt. Hood automotive program

Portland’s favorite car company (by all appearances), Subaru, has come to Mt Hood.

The Japanese automotive giant has partnered with MHCC’s automotive technology program in an attempt to establish the company’s new Subaru University program in the Pacific Northwest.

Couple this news with the Chrysler Mopar College Automotive Program (MCAP) and it’s no wonder that MHCC’s automotive training program keeps getting students where they want to be: employed.

The process of bringing Subaru U to Mt. Hood is still in the early stages. This will be only the fourth program of its kind in the country for Subaru, so both parties are still working out the particulars of this new relationship. Some equipment and technical manuals, including four Subaru motors and a transmission, have already made their way to the campus. The program is currently accepting applications and classes will start in the upcoming fall term.

Subaru U will have the exact same layout as the college’s current MCAP and Import automotive cohort programs. It, too, will offer students the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience and mentor-based training at local automotive dealerships while earning an Applied Science associate degree in automotive technology.

Students interested in the program must apply to a screening process conducted by local automotive dealerships. Once an individual dealership chooses to sponsor a student, he or she will work at that dealership every other school term for the duration of the two-year program with those work hours counting towards your degree. Once selected, students become employees of the dealership and are expected to make a commitment to that shop.

According to Steve Michener, the instructor/coordinator for the MCAP/Import cohorts, these sponsorships generally turn into paid positions by the fourth term in the program.

Michener went as far as to claim a 100 percent employment rate among new MHCC program graduates, dating back to 1996. If that’s the case, given the amount of modified Subarus in our parking lot, it’s surprising students aren’t breaking his door down to enroll in the program. In fact, he said, there are more dealer sponsorships available then he has students, for those willing to travel a few miles west for work.

“We can’t send students fast enough to dealerships in the Portland-Beaverton area,” Michener said. This might reflect the demand for dealership-trained technicians locally, but also could be the result of the relatively small amount of students admitted into the Mt. Hood program each year. In total, the MHCC cohorts consist of only 48 students total, with 24 new applicants making the cut each school year.

“Those students interested in enrolling should apply for Fall Term as soon as possible,” he said.

All told, Subaru U is only one of two major incursions by the automotive giant Subaru into the Gresham area, of late.  The other is growing out of the dust and racket near the corner of Northeast Hogan Drive and Glisan Street. There, Subaru is erecting a massive parts depot, meant to service the entire Pacific Northwest.

It’s clear that Subaru of America (subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan) has made an extensive commitment to the local area, and MHCC is proving to be an integral part of that commitment.

Time will tell if Subaru U experiences the same success as the MCAP and Import programs at Mt. Hood. But, given Subaru’s cult following here and Mt. Hood’s impressive employment/placement rate, this looks a lot like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

For more information about Subaru U, MCAP, or the Import cohorts, contact Vicki Lundmark-Trujillo at 503-491-7470 or [email protected].