Automotive Technology Teachers

In American colonial times, organized adult education was started to help people make up for schooling missed as children or to help people prepare for jobs. Apprenticeships were an early form of vocational education in the American colonies as individuals were taught a craft by working with a skilled person in a particular field. Training programs continued to develop as carpenters, bricklayers, and other craftspeople learned their skills through vocational training courses.

In 1911, Wisconsin established the first State Board of Vocational and Adult Education in the country, and in 1917 the federal government supported the continuing education movement by funding vocational training in public schools for individuals over the age of 14. Immediately after World War II, the federal government took another large stride in financial support of adult and vocational education by creating the G.I. Bill of Rights, which provided money for veterans to pursue further job training.

Today colleges and universities, vocational high schools, private trade schools, private businesses, and other organizations offer adults the opportunity to prepare for a specific occupation, such as automotive technology or collision repair, or pursue personal enrichment.

The National Association of College Automotive Teachers (now known as the North American Council of Automotive Teachers) was founded in 1977 to serve the professional needs of automotive teachers.