Working His Way Up as Munday Chevrolet Apprentice: Kenny Miller

Kenneth Miller went from knowing little to nothing about cars to being an apprentice at Munday Chevrolet in Houston, Texas. His education at UTI helped him to develop and pursue the skills that he needed to work his way up to this role.¹ And with each day, his knowledge deepens, and with each day his career trajectory keeps moving upward.

As a tech apprentice, he works under the main technician at Munday. He keeps busy with AC trim electrical, helping out with the basics and learning more with every car that rolls into the shop. And apprenticeships like this are so valuable in helping expand and learn different skills. Not only is Kenneth learning about the AC trim electrical component of being an auto tech but he’s also getting hands-on experience with transmissions and drivability. It’s getting to learn a little bit about everything that goes on in the shop that excites him. He’s open to learning, and there are so many things about working with automobiles that he wants to know.

“I love to learn new things. I learn something new every single day. I have a nice technician to work with and it’s just a good work environment. I love coming in every day.”

But Kenneth didn’t grow up working on cars. In fact, when he enrolled at Universal Technical Institute he knew very little about how they worked. He had never taken an automotive class before.

“I didn’t have a lot of experience. I knew what stuff looked like and that was pretty much it. You can go in there with no experience.”

Immediately after high school, he enrolled at UTI. He studied basic automotive as well as the Ford Accelerated Credential Training (FACT) program, which is 15 weeks of Ford-focused coursework. Kenneth is a 2014 graduate of the Houston UTI campus.⁸

After graduation, he took a job at a Dodge dealership where he did his time on the lube rack. He reached out to an old boss who was now working at Munday Chevrolet and ended up landing a job in the same role. His hard work and willingness to learn was recognized. He was offered an apprenticeship, and found himself ascending to the next level of his career path. This apprenticeship has given him the chance to learn new things, hands on.

“Munday Chevrolet is a great environment – everybody gets along. There’s a lot of vehicles that come into the shop. We’re always busy, and there’s always new things to learn.”

Kenneth continues to deepen his knowledge and credits the instructors at UTI as having helped inspire him. His time at car mechanic school set the tone for his future career.

“All the Ford FACT instructors were awesome. The learning experience was more individualized. We all learned so much.”

For those on the same path – who want to work their way up, Kenneth recommends UTI, especially for those who don’t have a background with autos. Now as an apprentice he sees clearly where he want to go in the next five years.

“I need to take the ASE’s and in five years I see myself doing bumper-to-bumper tech.”

An apprenticeship can be a helpful step in helping someone to expand their knowledge and get real world experience. Kenneth has found the experience helpful and he continues to keep his eyes open to new opportunities for his future.