J-Tech (also, known as Jones Technical Institute) is a technical school focused on under the hood and over the road technicians as well as teaching people how to be a transportation professional. Basically, they have programs designed to position individuals as automotive technicians (gas and diesel), medium and heavy duty diesel technicians and class “A” commercial drivers.

This isn’t an overnight start up that has a huge marketing budget trying to establish themselves. J-Tech has been around since the mid 70’s and is a subsidiary of the Compass Rose Foundation (CRF) which has been developing educational initiatives for 70 plus years.

One really cool aspect of the programs that J-Tech offers is that about 70% of the time, the student will be in the shop or lab doing hands on work. This isn’t a school that only teaches theoretical application of concepts. At 70% of the time, the student will be hands on, working on real applications, diagnosing, repairing, replacing and working on actual vehicles and products that are in production.

The technician programs are two year programs that yield an Associate Degree (Occupational Associate Degree OAD) when completed. While this may or may not seem important to you now, having a higher degree than a high school degree can make the difference in getting a job or not. These two year programs not only focus on real world tasks, but also, focus on how to be a better employee. They focus on how to manage your time, ethics, communication and customer service. These are all important skills that everyone should have.

If you are interested in getting into the diesel industry, check out J-Tech’s programs.