Peterbilt Motors Company has teamed with Universal Technical Institute (UTI) to create the Peterbilt Technician Institute program, an exclusive curriculum focused on comprehensive service technician training, the company recently announced.

The inaugural 12-week program – which began November 11 – will provide students with classroom and hands-on instruction of total vehicle diagnostics, maintenance and repairs, as well as essential education in customer service, dealership shop operations and laws and regulations. The class will be held at UTI’s Dallas/Fort Worth campus and also include course work at Peterbilt’s Denton (Texas) training center and manufacturing facility and a PacLease service facility in Dallas.

“We’re helping address the industry-wide shortage of qualified, certified service technicians. Our new partnership with UTI will help attract the next generation of technicians who are equipped to exceed expectations through exceptional service of both customers and vehicles,” said Darrin Siver, Peterbilt general manager and PACCAR vice president. “They will have bumper-to-bumper knowledge of commercial vehicles, including a focus on the complete lineup of Peterbilt trucks and PACCAR Engines.”

The program is among the most comprehensive of its kind and will help ensure students graduate with working knowledge of the latest tools, technologies and diagnostic programs. The Peterbilt Technician Institute will have a dedicated UTI instructor and Peterbilt will provide additional instructors for the courses, as well as vehicles, components and software for students to work with.

Students are sponsored by Peterbilt dealerships and graduates will be placed in a full-time position with a Peterbilt dealership.

“We will work with our entire network of 275 dealerships to select students for this program. Our expectation is that, working in conjunction with UTI, the program will expand to other campuses to accommodate more students and provide our dealers with the industry’s most highly trained and capable technicians available.” said Mike Conroy, Director of Dealer Development. “Our customers expect the best service experience possible and this program will help Peterbilt and its dealers surpass those expectations.”