McPherson College: Training Classic Car Restoration Experts Where AI Can't Replace Hands-On Skills

Classic Car Restoration at McPherson College

• 🚗 Students at McPherson College are learning the intricate skills of classic car restoration, including assembling transmissions and fashioning new parts.
• 💡 The upholstery lab showcases students meticulously creating new trim pieces, with one student demonstrating the process of making rivets for a window strap on early 1900s cars.
• 💬 Students express a deep passion for cars, stating they "live and breathe" them, often finding it hard to have a "car-free" conversation.

In-Demand Skills and High Job Placement

• 📈 The US will require hundreds of thousands of new automotive technicians in the coming years, according to Tech Force.
• ✅ McPherson College boasts a 95% job placement rate for its auto restoration program graduates within six months.
• 🎓 The four-year program combines a liberal arts education with comprehensive classic car restoration training, covering bodywork, engine rebuilding, upholstery, wood trim, and paint.

Craftsmanship Beyond AI

• 🏆 The program emphasizes craftsmanship at the highest level, evidenced by a McPherson College car winning second place at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
• 🔧 A professor highlights that the tactile experience of assembling an engine, feeling and measuring every component by hand, is something AI cannot replace.
• 📚 For those interested, McPherson College offers a 3-week summer course providing a crash course in car restoration.