VIDEO: St. Catharines GM plant gives Niagara College Auto Tech students 12 transmissions

Colleges get all sort of donations from businesses seeking to help students out but this one was unique.

The plant director from the St. Catharines General Motors stopped by recently with a gift that only students in the Green Automotive Technology Lab at the Welland Campus could truly appreciate.

Transmissions. Yup, transmissions. In fact, GM plant director Gary Athoe brought 12 new Chevrolet Equinox transmissions, to be precise, which will be used by students in the program for hands-on learning.

“We have a longstanding relationship with Niagara College. Our mutual interests in education and training are unparalleled,” said Athoe. “Many of our new team members are graduates of Niagara College and today’s donation is just one more step in our ongoing support of the College’s hands-on experiences.”

GM has a long history of supporting Niagara College and its students, something that has not gone unnoticed by Jeffrey Murrell, the associate dean of School of Trades. “

The School of Trades at Niagara College is grateful to General Motors for this generous donation and to everyone at GM for their help to get these transmissions into the hands of students,” said Murrell.

“We are always looking at new ways to innovate our curriculum to ensure our students receive the best career preparation, and GM continues to be a strong supporter of the next generation of automotive technicians.”

Over the past 27 years since their first gift to the Next Century campaign in 1995, General Motors of Canada Company has donated over $500,000 towards equipment and learning resources, campus redevelopment, and scholarships and bursaries.

The General Motors of Canada Scholarship assists students in various automotive/engineering programs, and the General Motors St. Catharines Propulsion Plant Bursary assists students in the Environmental Management and Assessment program.

GM has donated many vehicles and parts to the Motive Power Technician program including most recently a Chevrolet Suburban and Chevrolet Silverado. In 2014, GM supplied over 50 3.6L engines that have been used by students to hone their skills.

According to program coordinator Wayne Toth, the 6T60 Equinox transmissions are industry standard technology, meaning that students will graduate with the experience to service these parts in the field.

“Students will disassemble these transmissions, then analyze, diagnose and repair them to prepare for their careers in the automotive industry,” said Toth.

“Automotive technology is changing at such a rapid pace, and we are grateful to be able to give our students access to the latest innovations in vehicles today to support their learning. This donation will continue to put our program at the forefront of all automotive programs.”

“We are very thankful for our partnership with GM Canada and their ongoing support,” said Toth. Here’s a quick video from the recent donation.