Stan Wierzbowski, Professor, Motive Power Trades, has been involved in the automotive trade in Ottawa for over thirty years. Stan’s first job in the automotive industry was with a local bakery in 1973 where he was a service technician for their delivery truck fleet and highway shipping tractors. Throughout the seventies, Stan was enrolled at Algonquin College in two programs; Electro-Mechanical Drafting Technology and also Mechanical Engineering Technology. He continued to work part time in various local auto repair shops while attending school. In the late seventies, Stan began a full-time career in the automotive trade. He enrolled in the Motor Vehicle Mechanic Apprenticeship Program at Algonquin and graduated in 1981 with an Inter-Provincial (Red Seal) Standard.

Throughout the eighties and into 1996, Stan worked at a number of local Japanese auto dealerships. Stan was hired as a part-time Professor in August of 1998 where he taught courses in the automotive apprenticeship and diploma programs.

As a Professor, Stan encourages his students to, “get a firm grasp on the basics. It is vitally important for a technician to understand how and why the vehicle works and behaves the way it does, in order to be able to accurately diagnose problems,” says Stan. To reinforce this idea he challenges his students to think about what their car is doing when they are driving to and from school. “For example, I ask them to think about what their suspension is doing when the car hits a bump, and what the transmission is doing when they shift gears,” Stan explains.

Aside from being a Professor, Stan was involved with the compilation of the Distance Training CD ROM series, the development and production of the Motive Power Mentor Coach Program and is most proud of his involvement in the creation and delivery of Automotive Service Technician Online (AST Online), an online training portal for automotive apprentices.

Stan is a full-time professor with the School of Transportation and Building Trades. He currently teaches in the Motive Power Technician Co-op apprenticeship program. The excellent facility in S Building and the highly dedicated departmental staff are reasons why he enjoys his work at Algonquin, but, “interacting with students, and watching their progress through the program is the most rewarding part of the job,” Stan explains.