James Whaley: Building up the next generation of automotive techs

James Whaley, automotive technology instructor at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Missouri, has only been an educator in the academic sense for a year. He’s been teaching a lot longer than that, having spent more than 30 years working in the automotive industry, running his own shop and training new and inexperienced technicians. He found the process of educating those technicians so rewarding that he started thinking about closing the shop and reopening it just to train technicians once he retired. He didn’t get the chance to consider that plan for long thanks to an opening with a new automotive technology program, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Q: What got you started as an educator?

James Whaley: I was already working on a five-year exit plan for my retirement. I brought in a tech, trained him up, and planned to hand the business over to him. We were in the middle of that process when a job opened up with a brand-new program. So, this is not only my first year teaching, but also the first year of a program that didn’t exist a year ago. Long story short, I applied, got hired, and hit the ground running. I’ve got to say, ASE has been a huge help.

Rob Ferguson is my rep, and Bob Farris has also been great. We’re not accredited yet as we’re in the process. During the self-evaluation, before even presenting to our advisory board, I realized there were several things I needed to do differently since it’s just me running the program.

I found out I wasn’t tracking certain things, even though I was teaching the skills. I wasn’t measuring them. Last year, the VP of ASE said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” That really stuck with me. That was one area where I realized I could improve after digging into the standards from ASE.

Q: What would you say is the most valuable thing you’ve gotten from attending industry events?

Whaley: Steve Johnson did a session last year on marketing, and seeing presenters bring their own style like that has helped me a lot. I’ve taken bits and pieces from different presenters. I’m actually heading to his session again in a minute because he was incredible. He presented with so much passion, and that’s what I want my students to see in me.

Q: Can you think of a moment when it just clicked for a student that this was more than a class, it was a career?

Whaley: In my first very green year as an educator, which honestly makes me feel like I’ve found my “why,” we were doing electrical work. Throughout the year, students were learning, but during the electrical unit, I had them all in one classroom. Suddenly, it just clicked. It was like light switches going off across the room, almost all at once. It was so rewarding.

Teaching someone something they didn’t know before—something that could change their life—is powerful. It might even change their family’s trajectory. Maybe their family has only ever done labor work, and now they can use their hands and their knowledge.

Q: What does it feel like to see someone you taught or mentored go out and start their own shop or career?

Whaley: Back when I had my shop, honestly, it kind of hurt when someone I trained would move on. You’d bring in green techs, train them, and then they’d leave, sometimes to a competitor. It affected me financially. But now, it’s different. I can give back without it costing me an arm and a leg.