Amid a slowly recovering economy, one industry remains in high demand and the Tahoma High School has been tapping into that this year.

Luke Thompson, automotive technology instructor at Tahoma, said there’s a high demand for technicians in the automotive industry.

Thompson, who is an Automotive Service Excellence master certified technician, teaches Tahoma students the skills they need to get a job in an auto body shop.

The program is a three-course series and Thompson said he taught 150 students over the course of the last year. Twenty-three completed the course as seniors this year, he said.

Thompson is working to get the program National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) accredited, which could be in place at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. This is the goal that most high school and similar programs strive for, he said.

The accreditation process requires specific curricula to be taught, having all the tools at the students’ disposal, and an advisory committee composed of local industry experts, Thompson said in a phone interview.

Even though he’s only been with the district for a year, he’s looking forward to what the program will become.

“We’re really preparing students for the transportation industry,” he said.

Everything students learn can easily be adapted to different aspects of that industry including trucks, trains, planes, and boats.

With the new high school coming to fruition, Thompson said he hopes to expand the program to offer speciality courses, including small gas engines, diesel and heavy duty trucks, and even hybrid and alternative fuel classes.

Thirty-four of his students recently received their ASE student certification after passing one or more parts of the ASE exam. In total, 97 certifications were received by those 34 students, with some students receiving multiple certifications in different areas.

A ceremony and car show took place June 8 where those students were awarded their certifications. Local employers and technical colleges were also there to meet with parents and students about opportunities beyond high school.

The ASE certification that is received by professional technicians requires two years of industry experience. With their student certification in hand, these students will be able to work in auto shops to gain that required experience and receive their ASE certification.

The course encompasses a lot of hands-on work and just by the nature of the work, it expands into mathematics, science and technical writing. However, students don’t get credit for those aspects of the program. Thompson hopes to change that in the future.

He said he also incorporates community service projects into the class. Throughout the last year, the students helped the residents of Vine Maple Place to change the oil in their vehicles. This was the first year for that project and Thompson said he wants to continue it.

“It was a really great opportunity for students to use the skills that they’ve learned in the class to give back to the community and to do something useful for someone else,” Thompson said. “They really enjoyed doing that.”

And it’s not just about doing simple fixes or maintenance on vehicles, either. Thompson said his students have to use a lot of problem-solving skills to diagnose issues and figure out the physics of the vehicle’s parts.

“This is the greatest physics lab you’ll find, is working around cars and how cars work,” Thompson said.