Brance Barnard’s shop, Barnard Tire & Automotive, at 202 N. Main St. in Hoisington specializes in automotive wheel alignments, tires, oil changes, brakes, suspension service, tune-ups, computer diagnostics and more. Barnard is a Barton Auto Tech graduate and has been operating a successful business since January.
May 27, 2015
Story and photo by Joe Vinduska
In his spare time, 29-year-old Barton Auto Tech graduate Brance Barnard loves to work on cars. It is his favorite hobby. Lucky for Brance, he has turned that hobby into a career.
“It feels great,” Barnard said.
He started 2015 in a big way and opened the doors to his own automotive repair shop, Barnard Tire & Automotive in Hoisington in January. The parking lot is filled with customers’ cars. He said he’s crazy-busy, but that it’s a blessing.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own shop, but you don’t just want to jump out and do it without experience,” he said. “You kind of have to build that,” he said.
Experience came in several forms for Barnard, such as learning to work on his family’s vehicles growing up. Barton Community College’s Automotive Tech Program, which he completed in 2006, is what helped propel him from a top-notch amateur to an industry professional.
“My time at Barton helped me channel my automotive interests and kind of refine them and define where I wanted to go with my career,” he said. “It kind of just smoothed everything out for me and really helped zone it in.”
Barnard worked in the industry for nine years after Barton at Becker Tire where he gained a tremendous amount of real-world experience working in numerous roles from technician to store manager.
Barnard also teaches for the Barton Auto program as an associate faculty member and said the facilities at Barton are cutting edge, which is important for technicians as vehicles continue to be designed with more computer-integrated components.
“I’ve been to several facilities in the state and we are right up there,” he said. “We have equipment that nobody else in the state has. It takes some top-tier computer scan tools and the knowledge base to operate them to be in this field.”
While Barnard had a strong background in auto repair before starting school, he stressed that Barton’s program is designed to teach students of all experience levels.
“Barton starts out in a great place,” he said. “In the entry-level and first-year classes we really take it from the ground up to where anybody can hit the ground and start running. There’s some remedial stuff that everybody has to learn and it will catch them up on that level. It’s a good atmosphere for someone who doesn’t have any experience or for someone who does, it just helps refine that experience.”
Barnard said the auto tech field should not be overlooked as a career option because there is a high demand for technicians and it is increasing every day.
“Working in this field is a wonderful opportunity,” he said. “As cars become more and more advanced, less people can do the work on their own and even the simplest things like oil changes or changing a headlight bulb can be somewhat drastic in terms of knowledge required to do it. The more specialized training someone gets the more valuable they become, and you can go out in this career and make a lot of money. There’s not a shop around that doesn’t need help. There’s a lack of technicians out there right now.”
Barton’s Auto Tech Program offers: Industry-trained ASE Master Certified instructors, flexible scheduling that allows students to have a part-time job and hands-on instruction in a state-of-the-art "live-shop" environment featuring computerized test equipment and electrical training stations. The curriculum teaches NATEF certified courses covering brakes, steering and suspension, electrical, engine performance, air conditioning, engines, manual drivetrains and automatic transmissions, as well as hybrid vehicle training options and an auto body elective course.
For more information on the Barton Automotive Technology Program contact Executive Director of Workforce Training and Economic Development Mary Foley at foleym@bartonccc.edu or (620) 792-9278.