It is all about being trained and qualified. The Haleyville Rotary Club recently heard from Mike Batchelor, head of automotive training for the Haleyville Center of Technology, (HCOT), who presented an overview of how well his students were doing. Not only were the students doing great in learning about the mechanics of automobiles, but overall, they scored extremely well in other subjects also. 

Batchelor's students have scored very well in competition outside of the school both regionally and nationally. 

What is the automotive training worth? One student stated a fully qualified Automotive Service Excellence, (ASE) certified mechanic can earn a starting salary of $80,000 per year once all the training is complete. Many automobile manufacturers and parts suppliers have formed an alliance to partner with ASE to ensure there will be well educated and trained individuals to work on the every changing automotive technological advances. 

This will be Mike's last year at HHS. He plans to retire and pursue work in the same field outside academics. John McCullar, head of the HCOT, stated: Mike will be hard to replace. He will be leaving a great program he has helped build at Haleyville High."