Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools (MCVTS) honored Michael Dooley, director of Fixed Operations at Dayton Toyota in South Brunswick for hiring students and supporting automotive technology programs.
Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools (MCVTS) honored Michael Dooley, director of Fixed Operations at Dayton Toyota, as its 2020 Business Partner of the Year.
The award is given annually to a county vocational technical school business partner for outstanding contributions to career and technical education. Business partners play a variety of roles, including serving on county vocational technical school program advisory boards, offering opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience, donating equipment, or serving as mentors and role models for students.
For more than a decade, Dooley has been working with the MCVTS cooperative education coordinators and automotive technology instructors, including the Middlesex County College Automotive Technology program.
“Michael has been an avid supporter of our automotive technology education,” said Superintendent Diane Veilleux.
Dooley has made significant contributions as a leader on the Automotive Technology Advisory Committee, Veilleux said. He has made a commitment to hiring students through the cooperative education program, a state Department of Labor and Workforce Development Pre-Apprenticeship Career Exploration (PACE) grant program and the Middlesex County College postsecondary program, including a formal apprentice program with Middlesex County College (MCC) and New Jersey Coalition of Auto Retailers through a state GAINS grant for Middlesex County residents.
A majority of the secondary and postsecondary student placements have continued to become full-time employees at Dayton Toyota after the educational placements were completed.
“Michael has expressed a strong desire to continue supporting the MCVTS and MCC automotive technology program and students through advisory input and providing work-based opportunities, which our graduates are very well prepared to enter,” Veilleux said. “Michael is to be commended for his forward thinking, outstanding mentorship and for his collaborative efforts with MCVTS staff and students to help fill the needs of the in-demand career area of a modern automotive technician.”
