Chad Bryan, Gleaner Writer

When his former place of employment closed down, Homerdee Nicholas, a recent graduate of the Jamaica-German Automotive School (JAGAS), was forced to seek employment elsewhere. This in turn led him to studies at JAGAS and, now, he works at Toyota Jamaica as a serviceadvisor.

"I used to do AutoCAD drawings before for Aluminum Company of Canada, Limited (ALCAN), but it shut down. I decided to be multi-skilled, and so I went to JAGAS, since I heard it was the premier auto school of the Caribbean. I said to myself, since this is the ultimate, I can go, I decided to go to the highest and attend," he said.

However, prior to ALCAN's closure and him subsequently taking up employment at JAGAS, Nicholas noted that he always had an interest in motor vehicles, particularly when he was working in Manchester.

LOVE FOR VEHICLES

"I always liked cars. When I was working in Manchester at the time, I had a little car and I used to practise tinkering with it. I had a little blue Nissan and I would always try to make it go a little faster so that is where the interest really started," he said.

Nicholas graduated from JAGAS with a level-three certification. He is now a qualified technician capable of working on a number of vehicles.

"With the level three, you are qualified to work on the engines of vans, cars and light trucks. With the level three, you become a technician. You are more than just the person who changes oil. You can go as far as building an engine," Nicholas explained.

According to him, Toyota Jamaica prides itself on employing only the best persons suited for a job. According to the company's mission statement, the organisation wants to be known throughout Jamaica and the Caribbean as a customer-driven, people-oriented and world-class company. The experience and qualifications gained from JAGAS have helped him fit into their environment.

The Toyota standard

"It is only at level three, Toyota Jamaica will employ you, because they only want the best. This certification has done two main things for me. It gives me a foundation that I can stand on - where I want to be and where I want to go - and it gives me a foundation for helping me to know myself," Nicholas, who started out as technician and was subsequently promoted to service advisor, said.

Photos by Chad Bryan