Alvin Barr works as a fully licensed Mercedes-Benz automotive technician in Union, N.J., where he gets to do what he loves every day: updating and repairing luxury vehicles. But he wasn’t always able to have his work be so fulfilling.
When Alvin was 18, he was working a retail job in Somerset, N.J., and felt directionless in his career. That’s when a friend at church mentioned Job Corps to him. “Every Sunday at church, people would ask me about college; but I knew college wasn’t for me,” Alvin said. So when my friend told me about Job Corps, all its benefits, and how I could learn a trade for free, I decided to check it out.”
In just a few weeks, Alvin was enrolled at the Edison Job Corps Center, where he began his Automotive training. While learning his career training, Alvin became a dorm leader and an exemplary student for his peers to follow. He was so talented that, after completing his basic and advanced trainings, his instructor recommended him to the Master Automotive training offered at the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center.
Alvin was soon taking his master training at the Clements center, where he continued to learn the skills needed to become an expert automotive technician. One day, when representatives from Mercedes-Benz were touring the center’s training facilities, a staff member introduced them to Alvin. Due to his professionalism and skill set, they suggested that he should apply to the Mercedes-Benz DRIVE program, a highly selective and intense 16-week training program.
The fact that it was a hard program to get into didn’t deter Alvin, and after going through the application process, he was accepted into the program. Job Corps paid for him to move to Jacksonville and complete the program while living at the Jacksonville Job Corps Center.
Alvin learned deductive reasoning and the major vehicle components and systems of Mercedes-Benz vehicles during the 3-month training. After he graduated, Mercedes-Benz was even able to place him at a facility back in New Jersey, near his home.
“Job Corps allowed me to become the master technician I am today,” Alvin continued. “The program prepared me for the real world and taught me that, if you want something, you have to go get it. It’s a mindset I now have.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: 2018 Employer: Mercedes-Benz Automotive Technician