Victor Yu, 24, isn’t afraid of hard work.
Since immigrating from Taiwan to Canada at the age of 19, he has completed English as a Second Language (ESL) and a four-year Automotive Service Technician program at the College of New Caledonia (CNC).
He chose to leave Taiwan after graduating from high school because there was no opportunity for him in his home country. Following the recommendation of family friends in Prince George recommended, Victor move to Canada and enrolled at CNC.
“I was nervous and excited,” he said. “I went to CNC right away. I didn’t speak English so I took the ESL course the first year,and it was very helpful. The instructors were friendly and had a lot of patience. I also got to meet friends from around the world.”
As soon as Victor started CNC’s automotive program, he was introduced to folks Chrysler Dodge who decided to hire him.
“I started as a shop apprentice cleaning the floor,” he said. “Then I did the basics…changed tires. The second year I did more tires and started to do more small stuff. Year three and four, I was working on transmissions and electrical stuff.”
Victor chose automotive because it requires a combination of knowledge and skill. He has since been with Chrysler for five years and is their youngest Red Seal Service Technician.
“You need to know a lot,” Victor said. “You need to be patient. You need to read a lot and practice a lot. I like to fix things with my hands, solve issues.”
Now that he has graduated and is certified, Victor plans to keep working full time at Chrysler. But, if time allows, he also hopes to one day help others like himself, just starting off in Canada and in automotive, by teaching in CNC’s automotive department.