Accelerate 2025: Bridging the Gap Between Automotive Education and Industry

Inside the Accelerate 2025 Automotive Educators Conference

Held at James Madison High School, the “Accelerate 2025” conference brought together a dynamic mix of automotive educators, industry leaders, manufacturers, and advocates. Organized once again by Greg Quirin and Omar Sevilla, the event focused on one clear goal: bridging the gap between classroom instruction and the fast-changing transportation industry. With a strong lineup of speakers, panelists, and hands-on sessions, the conference highlighted both the challenges and opportunities facing today’s career and technical education programs.

Conference Purpose and Vision

SD Techs was created in response to a clear need: to bridge the growing gap between the demand for skilled transportation technicians and the supply of qualified candidates. The organization brings together a dedicated group of automotive and transportation professionals who support career pathways from high school through college. Their goal is to help educators deliver relevant, effective training programs while actively promoting careers in the automotive and transportation industries.

This year’s “Accelerate 2025” conference continued to build on that mission:

“To navigate the intricate day-to-day operations of teaching automotive technology to high school and college students across Southern California.”

Expanding on that vision, the SD Techs committee has also committed:

“To advance and promote transportation and related careers through education, events, and strategic partnerships.”

By focusing on collaboration and connection, the group aims to not only close the skills gap—but also uplift and enhance the entire ecosystem of automotive education throughout the region.

Why CTE Programs Matter

Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a vital role in preparing students for life beyond the classroom. By combining academic knowledge with hands-on experience, these programs give students real-world skills that translate directly into the workforce.

CTE programs:

• Prepare students for high-demand careers
• Offer certifications, internships, and job-shadowing
• Build pathways to both college and immediate employment

As Virginia Oden from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) put it, “Automotive educators are a teacher, a mentor, and so much more. Many students in CTE programs thrive through hands-on learning, especially when traditional classrooms fall short.”

That hands-on impact was echoed by Omar Sevilla, Autoshop teacher at James Madison High School and co-founder of the conference. He highlighted how shop classes offer a unique and essential learning environment:

“In schools that have shop classes, they’re learning beyond pencil and paper, they’re learning skills. They’re learning about measuring, about different types of physics and different sciences, and they’re learning how to write legal documents, service orders, and things of that sort.”

He also challenged the narrow definitions of traditional education: “I think that learning to many people looks like students sitting in a classroom doing worksheets, writing on paper, doing research papers, but learning is so much more than that. To me, learning is not being in your seat and exploring new things and experimenting with maybe components, or parts, or materials that you’ve never touched before. Handling the tools, reading a tape measurer, those are all learning opportunities, and shop classes are the only place where school-aged children can learn those things.”

Together, these voices illustrate what makes CTE—and automotive education in particular—so essential: it doesn’t just teach students about careers, it gives them the tools to build one.

Industry Participation and Support

The strength of the conference was reflected in the wide range of industry support. Organizations like UTI, KARMA, Ford, Switch Vehicles, WD-40, Snap-On, Discount Tire, EV West, CARB, ConnectED, ASE, CNCDA, Revolt Systems, Girlie Garage, and many others showed up with a shared purpose: to better support and empower Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

CTE doesn’t just teach students about careers—it gives them the tools to build one.

Their presence reinforced a key message running throughout the event—educators aren’t in this alone. Industry leaders are not only watching, but actively participating in the future of automotive education.

Setting the Tone: Industry Insight and Interactive Learning

The conference kicked off with a keynote from Marques McCammon, President of Karma Automotive, who set the tone for the event with a powerful message about the future of the industry.

He described the automotive world as “in a state of massive transformation,” emphasizing how the shift toward electric and hybrid technology presents a huge opportunity—not just for companies, but for educators. Teachers, he noted, are in a unique position to guide students into meaningful careers and help shape the solution to the technician shortage.

McCammon also extended a direct invitation: encouraging teachers to bring their students to Karma’s facilities to see the factory firsthand—and maybe even “smoke some tires.” Sometimes, he explained, all it takes is that one spark of inspiration to change a student’s life.

Throughout the conference, hands-on breakout sessions gave educators a chance to dive deeper into emerging technologies and instructional techniques.

EV West — Mark Weller led a session on the basics of Battery Management Systems, offering a foundational look at how batteries are monitored, balanced, and protected.

The Hybrid Guy — Peter Nielson walked participants through the ins and outs of hybrid battery diagnostics, helping demystify a topic that’s often overlooked in traditional training.

Legacy EV — Baily Soto hosted an EV 101 certification course. Day one offered a one-hour introduction, followed by a full-day, seven-hour session on day two. Educators who completed the course walked away with an EV 101 certificate, ready to bring foundational EV knowledge back to their classrooms.

Educator Talena Handley from Girlie Garage reflected on the importance of safe, hands-on learning in these breakout sessions: “We got to use these really cool battery boxes that had plexiglass across the top, which put them in a safe environment, so that if we messed up we weren’t going to hurt ourselves. And that’s what we do as teachers, is put our students in that safe environment as well.”

Bridging Gaps Through Conversation

Moderated by Rob Atterbury of ConnectED, panel sessions and breakout groups gave educators a chance to speak candidly about the challenges they face and the work that lies ahead. Common concerns included outdated curriculum, instructor shortages due to credentialing and pay barriers, high equipment and supply costs, and a lack of public advocacy for automotive education programs.

But these weren’t just complaint sessions. The conversation quickly turned toward action. Attendees discussed the importance of forming a united front to advocate for automotive education and joining efforts like the Clean Transportation Technology Collaborative. There was agreement that stronger collaboration with industry partners could help address technician shortages and improve training pipelines. The group also explored the idea of consolidating separate fall conferences into one joint event and building a member-led network that teachers and districts can rely on for support year-round.

As Kim McPhaul from CNCDA put it, “Automotive educators are solution creators—use your voice across education and industry.”

A strong theme that carried through these sessions was the need for better funding and access to resources. During the open forum, one teacher voiced a concern that struck a chord with the room: “I hear all of this and it sounds great, but I go back to no funding and our best car is a civic from the 90s, and we have no tools to help students learn. This feels a bit like a good commercial, but what is the solution? As a high school auto shop teacher, how can I help?”

Dealership representatives in the audience responded by encouraging educators to connect with local automotive businesses. Several teachers shared their own experiences of reaching out to local partners and receiving donations of tools, vehicles, or support. While applying for grants and building these relationships takes time and effort, the consensus was clear, it’s often worth it for the long-term benefit to students.

Bob Mauger, an automotive technology teacher at Corona High School and the 2025 Teacher of the Year, spoke directly to how automotive education is perceived within the school system.

“We need to move automotive away from being just a dumping ground,” he said, referencing the way students are sometimes funneled into shop classes as a last resort rather than a legitimate learning path. Mauger shared how he changed the culture of his own program, not for recognition, but to build an environment where students could truly engage and thrive. That work eventually earned him awards, but more importantly, it created a space where students discovered something they could be passionate about. As Mauger pointed out, recognition can also lead to new opportunities and funding—but the heart of it all is putting students first.

Looking Ahead: Collaboration in Action

The energy coming out of the conference wasn’t just reflective—it was forward-looking. Industry partners made it clear they’re ready to support educators however they can. From apprenticeship programs through CNCDA to statewide networks like CAT, SDTechs, and Mobilize, there are already resources in place to help schools grow their programs and better prepare students for today’s automotive careers.

As Kim McPhaul noted, “The first step (toward progress) is just getting us all together.”

That work is already underway. An Automotive Collaborative Conference is scheduled for October 18th, 2025, in Tustin, CA—bringing educators, industry reps, and advocates into one shared space to keep this momentum going.

Greg Quirin, Program Specialist for San Diego Unified and co-founder of the conference, closed the event with a call to continue the work: “It’s very important to keep the momentum going and continue collaborating with the California automotive educators across the state and most importantly, the automotive industry, both at the dealership level and private independent level.”

He stressed that true progress will require everyone—schools, districts, agencies, and businesses—to come to the table and work together: “By bringing everyone to the table. This means we will need to continue working with local education, agencies and districts as well as multiple automotive entities to get on the same page. This has been a dream for years to see this go to this level and positively impact hundreds of automotive teachers across the state.”

For those looking to get involved or stay in the loop, SD Techs offers a newsletter and Hub Network at: www.sdtechs.org

Photos by Dan Coronado