If there is a theme to Garrett Nalepka’s life, it’s simple: Show up early, put in the extra work, and let the opportunities follow. As a lifelong car enthusiast, Nalepka has built a career defined by hands-on experience, persistence, and a willingness to go beyond what is required. It’s a mindset he now shares with his students as Program Coordinator of Automotive Programs at Centennial College. This mindset helps prepare students for automotive careers in the skilled trades, bringing those lessons directly into the classroom.
Starting an Automotive Career at Centennial College
Nalepka’s path started early. At 16, he bought his first car and immediately took it apart. Even then, he didn’t commit to it as a career until after high school, when an unexpected opportunity came his way.
"I needed to borrow a tool to work on my car," he says. "So, I ended up calling my friend who worked at Canadian Tire. I’m wearing ripped jeans, dirty clothes, and as I'm walking in, somebody with a suit walks up to me, and goes, are you the guy here who's looking for a job? Next thing I know, I'm in the office getting asked all these questions, and before I knew it, I was hired."
That moment launched his career. After two years, Canadian Tire would sponsor him to attend Centennial College through the Canadian Tire modified apprenticeship program.
"I loved it," he says. "I made sure I had an A-Plus in every course. To me, this was a whole new world coming here. I even earned the Ray Thompson award, and a full-size technicians tool box for highest GPA in the program."
From there, Nalepka chased experience, not pay.
"It’s funny, every job that I've ever gone to, I made less money," he admits. "It was always about the passion. It wasn't about the money." He started at the bottom in a Chrysler dealership, doing oil changes and driving the shuttle bus. Within two years, he was rebuilding transmissions. He continued moving to busier shops, building both skill and reputation.
"I didn't have any comebacks," he proudly says about his work. "I was just doing work like crazy. I'd be working at my dealership from 8am till 8pm. I built an excellent reputation for my work and before I knew it all the tow truck companies were bringing their vehicles to me. When I started making a lot of revenue, I ended up buying a Dodge Viper." He even joined a club for Viper owners, and eventually became the Vice President, until his career got even busier.
"With the Viper stuff, I had a customer base that grew over time to 85 cars," he says. "It was unbelievable. And I would only work on those cars. I had customers who would drive for eight hours to drop the car off, just to get me to look at it."
From the Industry to Teaching at Centennial College Automotive Programs
Nalepka’s return to Centennial College’s automotive programs followed the same pattern that defined his career: Doing a little extra. When the Drive Clean Emissions Testing License was introduced, he decided to challenge himself with it.
"It came out in the news that the Emission Tech test had an 85 per cent failure rate, and I wanted to take it as a challenge," he says. "So, I looked at where they had the actual testing, and it was at Centennial College, where I went to school."
"Me being me, I arrived two hours early," he says, "I walk into the lab, and one of the professors trying to have his class remove components from Chrysler vehicles. I had a Chrysler background, so I helped for about 40 minutes." When he finally sat down for the test (which he passed, he proudly notes), the teacher got him an interview for a teaching position, and soon after he’d get hired as an instructor. Now, he’s worked his way up to Program Coordinator.
"Doing the extra got me in here, and it was just because I wanted to help out, and not for any other reason," he says. Today, Nalepka oversees over 2500 students in the automotive apprenticeship programs at the Ashtonbee Campus.
"I have between 15 to 18 faculty that are under me," he says, "they take care of all the automotive programs for our department, our post-secondary diploma programs, and all the different formats of apprenticeship, but it's all automotive." Despite its scale, he notes the campus is still something of a hidden gem.
"It’s been said before: We’re Scarborough’s biggest secret," he says.
Automotive Industry Experience and Racing Career
Nalepka’s commitment to going the extra mile extends beyond the classroom. It has also shaped a parallel career in racing. That real-world racing experience now informs how Centennial College automotive students learn about diagnostics, performance, and problem-solving. And it all started with a late night at work.
"I'm at a dealership, and it's 4:30 PM, and everybody's packing up to go home, when we get this phone call," he narrates. "I have a Dodge Viper. Can you do belts, and get them done by tonight? A fan belt takes 30 minutes, so I say, sure, you know what? I'm not going to go home early. I'll get it done, right? Next thing I know, there's a Dodge Viper there, and it's not a fan belt they were talking about, it’s a belt for race seat harnesses. I end up working until 11 o'clock at night, because you have to strip the interior." For a third time, doing the extra work got him an in.
"Fred Roberts, the owner of the team, was impressed I completed the work in one night, and the next thing I know, I’m invited as a plus one on the team," he explains. "The first race I crewed for was in Detroit, where we worked long hours to give our small Canadian team the best possible chance against all the other higher-budget American teams. Next thing I knew, I was a permanent member of RPM Canada's crew, starting my race career. Again, it was just through doing that little bit of extra."
"Since 2012, I have been on Fred Roberts' crew," he continues. "Over the years, racing has taken me across North America, and internationally, we have raced Dodge Vipers, Maserati, Ford Mustangs, BMW, Aston Martin and now Lamborghinis."
In one standout moment, he competed in a global Lamborghini series.
"In 2022, we decided we were going to compete in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo world finals in Portugal using a rented Lamborghini racecar," he says. "It's a week of racing. For three days, you compete against everybody in North America, and then against everybody in the world."
At the end of the three-day North American competition, he ended up earning first place in the LB cup class.
"For the world competition we ended up going through the whole race in fifth," he says about the victory, "and on the very last lap, the guy in second tries to overtake the guy in first. There's a big smash-up. Fred ends up going through the middle, and we end up getting second in the Super Trofeo world finals in a rented car."
"You can't win all the time, that's racing," he says. "Even when results fall short, the mindset remains the same. You have to give 100 per cent all the time, cover for the people around you and encourage everyone, including the driver, that they can do it, and amazing things can happen."
Hands-On Automotive Training for Students
Nalepka has made a point of turning his industry experience into opportunities for students. One example is his involvement in rally racing in Newfoundland.
"A local Canadian printing Company, Hume Media, reached out to Centennial College to see if we could support their race team with a crew," he says. "Hume Media is less than 5 kilometers from the Ashtonbee campus. As soon as I looked them up, I thought, here is a company that is part of our local community, trying to raise money for MS. We have to help them."
"The TARGA Newfoundland event is a week of racing," he explains. "They close 3 to 5 subdivisions a day, that may be, five to twenty kilometers in length for each stage, the officials will time you in and out of each stage so you're racing the clock. Time is cumulative for the week, so if you mess up, that time is added to your weekly total. All road rules apply between the stages, the cars need to do the speed limit, and all road rules apply."
"In 2014, I was the only crew, there were days I would work on the cars until early morning, The work was exhausting," he says. "At the end of the week, Hume Media won both 1st and 2nd in the GT Division. In the Modern division, we came in second. It was exciting to have all three of our cars podium."
"In 2015, I brought one Centennial College student with me," he adds, "and our success continued with a 2nd and 3rd place in GT and, once again a 2nd in Modern."
"By 2016, I had three students with me," he continues. "And all of a sudden, we were servicing more and more cars. 2nd in Modern, 2nd and 3rd in GT."
"In 2017, we not only won 1st GT, but we also finally brought home a 1st in Modern, a victory that we repeated in 2018," he says. "Hume Media, with Centennial College automotive students, were not just competing, we were winning, dominating the competition, and building real-world experience, teamwork, and pride, proving that classroom learning could translate into success on one of the toughest rally stages in the country."
During the pandemic, the team took a break from racing, returning to the series in 2023.
"We were the only crew working on all the cars at that time," Garrett says. "We would fix our own, and then the competitors’ cars." The result was both competitive and collaborative success.
"We won the GT division," he proudly says, "and we had fixed the competitor's car who came in second." Centennial College also brought home a very special award called the 'Spirit of TARGA', for helping all their fellow race teams, regardless of whether they were direct competition or not.
How Centennial College Delivers Hands-On Automotive Training
That’s just one of the ways Nalepka transfers his racing experience to his students. His approach reflects how automotive training at Centennial College blends classroom learning with real-world industry experience.
"I'm involved in the industry," he says. "I'm still doing the summers at Raceway Chrysler, and still working cars, and a lot of that's to keep current." That exposure feeds directly into the classroom.
"It helps me to work on 2026 product," he explains. "I'll find these unique problems that will help me at Centennial College."
Hands-on learning is central to Centennial College’s automotive programs, as well.
"50% of our programs are labs," he says about Automotive programming at the college. "If you were to teach in a theory class, and you're pointing to a picture, that's fine and good. But the students, if you look at the stats, they'll only remember about 30% of what you're saying. So, if you can have a lab where you not only talk about something, you get them to disassemble it and put it back together, it will better support the outcomes you are trying to teach, and that information will stick with the student."
"We try to make our shop designs or labs mimic what's out in the industry," he says. "We'll take them on field trips to manufacturers, to different shops, and that's been highly successful. We'll have guest speakers come in. We've tailored our theory classes to learning whatever the most cutting-edge technology is, to give the students a head start when they go out into industry."
Automotive Careers in Canada: High Demand Skilled Trades
For Nalepka, the most rewarding part of the job is seeing students succeed.
"The best moments are when you hear about students passing, especially when they're successful," he says. Many of those students have even come full circle.
"We have eight faculty that were my students," he says. At the same time, he sees a persistent gap between industry demand and awareness. The demand for skilled automotive technicians continues to grow in Canada, creating strong career opportunities for graduates of Centennial College’s automotive programs.
"I receive calls from employers that say, I need people," he says. "The need is there. What kills me is, for a long time, people were not looking to automotive as a career, not any trades, really, as a career." That is why he continues to advocate for the field, because the demand for skilled automotive technicians continues to grow in Canada, creating strong career opportunities for graduates of Centennial College’s automotive programs.
"I look at it this way," he explains. "If you're a licensed technician, you can get to a point where, if there was ever a slowdown, you could pick up a phone and have another job in about 30 seconds. That's how much demand there is in the industry."
Advice for Automotive Students at Centennial College
With a focus on hands-on labs, industry partnerships, and up-to-date technology, Centennial College’s automotive programs prepare students for immediate entry into the workforce. And if you’re thinking of starting a career in the automotive industry, Nalepka has advice that reflects the same principles that shaped his own journey.
"Don't ever be scared of new technology, and don't be scared to adapt yourself to changes," Nalepka says. Flexibility, he explains, is essential in a rapidly evolving industry.
"I was just talking to an apprentice, and he said he only wanted to work on large trucks, and that work was starting to dry up," he says. "I was trying to tell him that you can't decide what to work on. You need to adapt to change, to whatever the work that is coming into your shop, because it won't happen once. It'll happen over and over again."
Looking back, he credits Centennial College with playing a defining role in his life.
"This place has definitely changed me as a person," he says. "Centennial changed me in two ways, first by gaining knowledge and experience as a student and then continuing to grow as a teacher. Both the knowledge and experience have helped and encouraged my students to succeed."
By: Anthony Geremia