OSU Institute of Technology’s Truck Technician program recently engaged in a new partnership with Dolese Bros. Co. which has already resulted in a much-needed donation of a Sterling ready-mix truck. 

“This truck donation and partnership with Dolese is much appreciated by the Truck Technician program and OSUIT,” said James Weygandt, Truck Technician instructor. “This donation will help our students by providing a vehicle to do live work versus the typical on-stand work, which they have never had the opportunity to do before this.”

Dolese said they have a long history of giving back to the communities they serve, and education is an important focus in their giving. This particular partnership will provide a real-world working environment for OSUIT students to help build the skills needed to become the much-needed diesel technicians of the future.

Brian Malatka, general shop manager for Dolese, said this educational opportunity will benefit the students by adding another dimension to their skillset which should help with their transition into the workforce.

“As a student progresses in their learning, the ability to work on a fully functional vehicle benefits them by being able to see how different systems interact and the potential effects of a failure in one system can have on another,” said Malatka. “For example, this type of hands-on training will allow the students to diagnose how an electrical fault could prevent a mechanical system, such as the air conditioning system from operating.”

Another added benefit of this donation is the manual transmission. “The manual transmission gives the program the opportunity to train students on driving this type of transmission, which they may have never been exposed to in the past,” said Weygandt.

Weygandt said the partnership with Dolese also will provide opportunities for students to obtain internships or jobs post-graduation and has a number of paths that students can take leading to employment opportunities. 

One example is the Dolese internship/OJT (On-the-Job) training opportunities which allow students to complete their program while also learning the day-to-day functions in the industry of their chosen career.

“A partnership between the school and business helps develop trust and dependability for all those involved. Partnerships such as this provide more opportunities for students because we learn what the program is teaching and what they expect from any potential employee candidates,” said Kermit Frank, director of communications and community relations. “For the school, the instructors work with us and other businesses to find industry trends, tools and skills important in our fields, and changes to federal and state guidelines/ requirements. We feel these are important partnerships to help build and provide opportunity for the future workforce.”

The partnership has also benefited the program by providing introductions to other industry partners at the last Super Tech competition that OSUIT and Dolese attended.

“They have truly gone above and beyond, and we are incredibly thankful for their partnership,” said Weygandt.

“We truly value these types of working relationships. The donation of this truck seemed like a natural fit as Dolese, as a company, looks for ways to develop people and leverage technology,” said Frank. “We certainly see the students that come from programs like this as critical to our company as well as our industry. Their skills have great value to our daily operations as it impacts our ability to serve our customers. We hope these students might consider a future with Dolese.”