For Andrew Falotico, a career in the automotive industry wasn’t just a choice, but a part of his family legacy. Raised in a household where car repair was the family business, and where Centennial College was trusted to train apprentices, Andrew naturally followed in their footsteps. But what started as a practical step to become an automotive technician turned into a lifelong journey of learning, innovation, and giving back, thanks to the strong foundation he gained at Centennial College. From mastering automotive technology in the 1980s to leading a major Bus Design Innovation Program with the TTC and Centennial, Andrew’s story is one of growth, reinvention, and staying connected to the college that helped launch his transportation career.
Next in Line
Andrew’s family worked in the auto repair industry, which shaped his own path toward Centennial College. “My uncle became a mechanic, and my father was the accountant of the service center,” he says. “I grew up in a family business that looked after car repair.” “I remember having a serious conversation with my dad when I was in my teens,” he recalls. “He said hey, what are you going to do with your life? And I said, oh, you know, this and that, typical generic response. He said, maybe you might want to consider an apprenticeship. My dad at the time had put several apprentices through Centennial's program through the service center. So, I just happened to be next in line. I never looked back.”
Centennial in the ’80s
Even in the 1980s, Centennial College’s Automotive Service Technician Program kept up with automotive technology trends.
“One of the fascinating things about going to Centennial College at the time is that we were going through a transition from carburetors to fuel injection, which then was introducing the concept of computers,” Andrew explains. “So, what Centennial College brought to the table was a great understanding of how to make that transition from carburetors to fuel injection, and the electrical component. That electrical theory, combined with understanding the principles of new fuel injection gave me a better opportunity to be placed in higher-end positions at dealerships.” The program also taught a flowchart-based process for diagnosing mechanical issues, which Andrew found to be very important.
“Even today, I still use that same type of flow and process in trying to be solution-based,” he says. Andrew also appreciated the program’s diverse learning environment, from both the instructors and his classmates.
“We had a number of different types of technicians coming from across the province that were offering many of their skill sets in conversation,” Andrew says. “Some were truck mechanics, some were car mechanics, some specifically worked on heavy duty vehicles. Having all of that in our classroom gave us a really good understanding of the industry and the field. I don't think you can put a price on that, and I believe that was done by design through Centennial. They could have easily said car mechanics here, truck mechanics here, but there was a blend, which I thought was very important.” That diversity also extended beyond job types. It was part of the inclusive education culture.
“Something that I thought was very beneficial was that in some of the courses that I took, they were teaching global citizenship, which was very foreign to me,” he says. “Which then very much made me understand diversity, equity, inclusion, respect, dignity and fairness in the workplace. Centennial was actually exercising those principles back in the 80s. It was human-centered. It was worker-centered.”
The Long Road Out of, and Back to, College
After graduating from Centennial College, Andrew became a licensed automotive service technician and worked at a car dealership. But when a recession hit, he pivoted. On his wife’s advice, he applied to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). While he didn’t expect to work on public transit vehicles, he accepted the challenge.
He also started teaching automotive maintenance basics to beginners through the East York Board of Education, which led him to discover a passion for teaching.
At the TTC, Andrew thrived in a unionized environment, became deeply involved in workplace health and safety, and gained experience with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Eventually, he began teaching safety protocols to workplace committees.
“I did that for about four or five years,” Andrew says, “and the program ended, only for me to realize, and this was this was the turning point for me, how much I really enjoyed instructing, and to say I'm going back to school to get my certification.”
Back to School
Andrew returned to Centennial College to enroll in its Teaching and Learning for Higher Education Certificate Program, designed for those pursuing a career in post-secondary education.
“Centennial College was piloting higher-level learning education, so I took the very first course that they piloted, and I never looked back,” he says. The program, like his earlier experience, emphasized diversity, but this time, it was across age groups.
“What was really interesting was my classroom setting, and I'll never forget this,” Andrew says. “It was very diverse, specifically, with age groups. I'm going into a class, and at the time I was 48, 49, and for me that's kind of like, I'm the old guy here, right? But I met peers and colleagues that were either the same age, a little older, and some were very young. What I did realize is that Centennial College had such great fundamentals based on their foundations, that it didn't matter what your age was. We were all brought together, so working with my peers and my colleagues, there was an understanding of learning from them. Part of the hidden curriculum of doing higher-level learning was that we would learn from each other's experiences, and then scaffold and figure out how to get to the next level.” The program also introduced him to Bloom’s Taxonomy, a widely used education theory model.
“That is a process which I carry with me all the time,” he says about Bloom’s Taxonomy. “Centennial College didn’t just ask us to memorize facts and take a test. They asked us to analyze, apply, and synthesize information.” He also gained early experience in virtual learning techniques, something that, years later, became vital during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Centennial College gave me that opportunity to learn how to do virtual training before virtual training was actually really highlighted,” he says.
Building Better Buses
Andrew’s proudest achievement is the Bus Design Innovation Program (BDIP), which he helped launch in partnership with Centennial College, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Local 113 and the Amalgamated Transit Union International(ATU), where he’s currently the Director of Health and Safety. The Bus Design Innovation Program aims to develop and recommend safety-by-design solutions that bring improvements and advancements to transit buses, with the goal of making them safer, more modern, and more welcoming for operators, passengers, the public, and the global environment.
“We’re in the process right now of changing the industry,” Andrew says. “Unfortunately, assaults have gone up over 300% in the last 12 years. There's been critical injuries and fatalities, so we need better designed workstations. We also need buses that have proper suspension, so that we can reduce the ergonomic strain on our operators that suffer from lower lumbar injury or neck or shoulder. We also need proper accessibility for disabled patrons, so that they not only feel welcome in having to take transit, but they are now in a place that exemplifies diversity, equity and inclusion.”
“We’re working with bus manufacturers to actually change what a bus looks like,” Andrew says. “And Centennial College, in partnership with the TTC and ATU, now leads North America in that.”
It All Comes Back to the College
If it wasn't for Centennial College’s ability to teach me how to be an Automotive Technician and a teacher, I would not be in this position today,” Andrew says. “It’s a position that allows me to be part of the Bus Design Innovation Program, which I initiated with the TTC, ATU and Centennial College to give back to the industry, but most importantly to give back to the college.”
“I'm putting them on the map, and I’m proud to do so, because I'm an alumnus,” he continues. “It's payback. They gave me everything that I have right now. Everything. My success is dependent on Centennial College, because I look back and I go, yeah, if I wasn't a mechanic, I would not have been with the TTC. And if I wasn't with the TTC, I would not have gotten into health and safety. And if it wasn't for health and safety, I would not have gone to Centennial, and become an instructor. It all came back to Centennial, the whole thing. So, I am forever loyal, humbled and in debt to Centennial for my success.”
“I think it's really important to emphasize that Centennial College is just not an institute that allows for knowledge and the advancement of someone moving in their career,” he concludes. “It is an institute that allows you the opportunity to develop the principles, values and morals that allow you to become a better human being.”
By Anthony Geremia