{"id":88176,"date":"2026-02-14T02:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/892304774"},"modified":"2026-02-14T02:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:51:20","slug":"trade-collective-eths-team-up-to-promote-paths-into-the-automotive-skilled-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/14\/trade-collective-eths-team-up-to-promote-paths-into-the-automotive-skilled-trades\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade Collective, ETHS team up to promote paths into the automotive skilled trades"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=75&resize=75&ssl=1 75w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=100&resize=100&ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=150&resize=150&ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=240&resize=240&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=320&resize=320&ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=500&resize=500&ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=640&resize=640&ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=800&resize=800&ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=1024&resize=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=1280&resize=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1&w=1600&resize=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/evanstonroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Joerg-Metzner-5100.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n<p>The Trade Collective and Evanston Township High School have teamed up this month with a calendar of events to get students who are interested in the skilled trades to explore the opportunities in the automotive industry. <\/p>\n<p>Automotive Month will conclude with a tire changing competition in partnership with the Community Garage and Autobarn, in which students will have the chance to win a scholarship to Oakton College or a weekend of high performance drivers\u2019 education.<\/p>\n<p>ETHS and the trade Collective signed a memorandum of understanding solidifying their partnership last year, but Automotive Month is the first time they have collaborated on a full slate of trades-based programming. Susan Besson, who manages communications and advancement for the Trade Collective, said that there is now a Trade Collective Club at ETHS with about sixty enrolled members.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"bs_zones-42\" class=\"bs_zones clearfix\"><\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Dale Leibforth, Director of Early College &amp; Career Experiences at ETHS, said that about 75% of ETHS students attend college after they graduate. But Leibforth said that his office wanted to think about what to do for the 25% of students who didn\u2019t attend college after graduation. The agreement with the Trade Collective, he said, has started to build some pathways for students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we\u2019re also trying to philosophically kind of, as a school, say, we want all \u2014 100% \u2014&nbsp; of our seniors to be successful and to kind of be set up well,\u201d Leibforth said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we want to make sure that no matter where they\u2019re going, they have the ability to do that, and there\u2019s kind of an equal status, if you will, for whether it be a skilled trade or college [or] university, are all equal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe actually have an internship program where we really partnered with the Trade Collective so we could get more opportunities within the trades and manufacturing field,\u201d said Rosabel Arellano-Razo, early college and career experience fellow at ETHS.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Automotive Month<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>ETHS and the Trade Collective collaborated on a schedule of six events throughout the month, including an alumnus speaking about his experiences as a Tesla technician, as well as education about certification in the automotive trades through Oakton College. To promote Automotive Month, they brought a 1990 Mazda Miata into the main hall of the high school \u2014 which presented some challenges.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2 \">\n<aside id=\"bs_zones-47\" class=\"bs_zones clearfix\"><\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>They chose February as Automotive Month because it coincides with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagoautoshow.com\/\">Chicago Auto Show<\/a>. The month will close with a field trip to the Evanston Mazda Autobarn and then a tire-changing competition at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecommunitygarage.org\/\">Community Garage.<\/a> (The competition is not open to the public.)<\/p>\n<p>According to their website, the Community Garage \u201coffers diverse youth equitable after-school mentorship and life-skills training through creative motorsports\u201d and science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics education.<\/p>\n<p>John Santiago, a philosophy professor at the College of DuPage who has been a NASA Great Lakes High Performance Drivers Education instructor for over ten years, leads the Community Garage. He hosts students after school and on the weekends to work on auto-related projects, including engine building.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The tire changing competition, Santiago said, will be determined by knowledge and proper procedure, and is not purely a speed test.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat turns out to be not so safe,\u201d Santiago explained. \u201cIt has this additional element of, you have to actually demonstrate that you really know what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3 \">\n<aside id=\"bs_zones-15\" class=\"bs_zones clearfix\"><\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Although Automotive Month isn\u2019t yet done, Besson said that it\u2019s already a great example of the Trade Collective\u2019s partnership with ETHS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we really want to do is get kids exposed to and aware of and engaged in these things,\u201d Besson said. \u201cSo Automotive Month is, it\u2019s just a great example of how this programming is helping all of us do what we are pledging to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n<div id=\"jp-relatedposts\" class=\"jp-relatedposts\">\n<h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related Stories<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\"> <\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; explore the opportunities in the <span class=\"match\">automotive<\/span> industry. <span class=\"match\">Automotive<\/span> Month will conclude with &#8230; education about certification in the <span class=\"match\">automotive<\/span> trades through Oakton College. To &#8230; challenges.\u00c2\u00a0 They chose February as <span class=\"match\">Automotive<\/span> Month because it coincides with &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}