Jack Taylor’s gift to help establish ‘Centers of Excellence’ in technical training
Ranken Technical College announced last week that Enterprise Rent-A-Car and its founder Jack Taylor have made a $1 million gift to Ranken to assist in the establishment of “Centers of Excellence” for training the next generation of skilled automotive workers.
“This generous gift is one of the highlights of my tenure here at Ranken,” said Ben Ernst, Ranken’s President. “This gift is an investment in our future workforce, and will help us change the lives of even more students who want to have a great technical career.”
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest rental car company in North America. Its worldwide fleet tops 800,000 rental and fleet services vehicles. Enterprise relies on its Vehicle Repair professionals and National Service Department call center employees to ensure its fleet is properly maintained. Ranken works with Enterprise to provide advanced technical training to its employees.
Enterprise currently employs 40 Ranken graduates who are ASE (Automotive Service Excellence)-certified. These employees apply their technical expertise by overseeing the repair process with a focus on safety, efficiency, cost and quality.
“Ranken’s focus on preparing students for their career, and on following the NATEF (National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation) curriculum, means that we know Ranken graduates are ready to come to work for Enterprise,” said Tom Gieseking, Assistant Vice President, Service Operations at Enterprise. Gieseking works closely with Ranken to continue building the relationship Enterprise has with the College.
Ranken’s Automotive Maintenance Technology program is currently recognized as “Best in the Nation” by the Industry Planning Council and has been recognized as the number one automotive maintenance program in Missouri for five consecutive years by the Missouri Department of Education. The Enterprise/Taylor gift will be used to further improve Ranken’s technical training programs.
Since 1907, Ranken Technical College has served the St. Louis region by providing skilled labor through hands-on, state-of-the-art training in a variety of technical disciplines. Ranken prepares students for successful careers in their chosen technical fields by placing emphasis on technical training, general education and professionalism. The College offers Associate of Technology and Science degrees in five divisions:Automotive, Construction, Industrial Electricity/Electronics, Information Technology and Manufacturing —representing 13 technical fields, including automotive maintenance, precision machining and computer networking technology; and Bachelor of Science degrees in Architectural Technology and Applied Management. Ranken is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
For more information about Ranken Technical College, visit www.ranken.edu or call 1-866.4RANKEN.
