Video: Diesel mechanic training program celebrates inaugural class
Press release from Alachua County
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe College, in partnership with Alachua County and CareerSource North Central Florida, recently launched a new heavy diesel mechanic training and certification program aimed at strengthening the region’s skilled labor force and supporting long-term economic development.
To celebrate the beginning of the inaugural class, a ribbon-cutting and ceremonial signing event was held at Alachua County’s Public Works headquarters.
View a video of the event here.
The program will equip students with the practical skills needed for careers in diesel engine repair, agricultural equipment maintenance, mobile heavy machinery service, and related high-demand fields.
“Alachua County is proud to host this innovative training program at our Fleet Operations facility,” said Alachua County Commission Chair Charles Chestnut IV. “This partnership shows what can be accomplished when public and educational institutions come together to meet local needs, support working families, and strengthen our economy.”
The initiative was developed in response to Alachua County’s successful recruitment of the U.S. Army Reserve’s new Equipment Concentration Site, which is scheduled to open in east Gainesville in spring 2026. The military investment is expected to create sustained demand for certified diesel mechanics, making this training program a strategic asset to the region and boosting the local economy.
Florida is projected to add nearly 25,000 diesel mechanic jobs by 2032, with the industry growing at an average annual rate of 3.1% starting in 2024, according to Florida Commerce 2024-2032 employment projections. The median hourly wage for diesel mechanics in 2023 was $25.89.
Whaaaaaaaat?!!! Don’t tell me drill baby drill has caused green Gainesville to join the climate change is a hoax crowd.
What happened to?
“We’re in a CLIMATE CRISIS and diesel is not the future; it contributes to global warming by emitting black carbon, a potent climate-forcing agent, as well as heat-trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide..”
This is vocational school. It trains men and women to repair and maintain the engines and vehicles that bring you your organic and humanely grown food. You speak from a position of ignorance. The current EPA mandated emission control systems make the diesel an efficient and clean prime mover. If you are suggesting that EV is a superior technology, that is yet to happen. The diesel is how every single material thing in your life was brought to you.
Awesome! We NEED more mechanics, not liberal study or gender study programs.
The median hourly wage for diesel mechanics in 2023 was $25.89 /Hr AND the median hourly labor rate at any certified diesel Dealer in 2023 was $200+/hour they charge their customers. With a toolbox full of tools required to do the maintenance valued at the price of a new car, or more, the money distribution has to change for these new certified technicians because if it doesn’t those new “mechanics” are in for one heck of a surprise.