DIM0101C – Diesel Engine Mechanic/Technician Helper is a 150-hour Postsecondary Adult Vocational (PSAV) course carrying zero credit hours. It is the opening Occupational Completion Point of Florida's Diesel Systems Technician program, and the shortest — the later OCPs run 300 hours each.
The course does what a first shop course has to do: make a student safe, useful, and employable at an entry level before they know how to diagnose anything. A technician's helper is a real job, and this OCP qualifies a student for it.
Content covers shop safety as the organizing concern — personal protective equipment, lifting and jack stand use, hazardous materials and the safety data sheets that govern them, compressed air, fire prevention, and the specific hazards of heavy equipment: suspended loads, stored energy in air systems and springs, hot surfaces, and pressurized fluids. Heavy-duty vehicles hurt people in ways light vehicles do not.
Students learn hand and power tools, precision measuring instruments at an introductory level, fasteners and torque, shop equipment including lifts, jacks, and presses, and the service information systems a shop runs on — locating specifications and procedures in manufacturer literature rather than working from assumption.
Preventive maintenance is the practical core: fluid and filter service, lubrication, inspection routines, tire and wheel service, and the DOT inspection requirements commercial vehicles operate under. PM work is what a helper actually does, and doing it thoroughly is what earns progression.
Employability skills are treated as course content rather than an afterthought — attendance, communication, work order documentation, and the shop conduct that determines whether a helper becomes a technician.
The course is offered at approximately 16 Florida institutions, predominantly district technical colleges: Daytona State, First Coast Technical College, Fort Myers Technical College, Hillsborough, Immokalee Technical College, Indian River State, Lively Technical College, Lorenzo Walker Technical College, Manatee Technical College, Miami Lakes Educational Center, North Florida Technical College, Orange Technical College, Pensacola State, Pinellas Technical College, Ridge Technical College, and Withlacoochee Technical College.
Florida employers include freight and logistics along the I-4 and I-95 corridors, port operations in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, and Port Everglades, county transit and school district fleets in every county, equipment dealers, and the marine sector on both coasts.
Florida's Diesel Systems Technician program (FLDOE program number I470605) is a PSAV certificate built as stacked Occupational Completion Points, each separately employable. Manatee Technical College's Diesel Systems Technician 1 is representative, totalling 1,050 clock hours across four courses:
Districts package the framework differently — some split it into "Diesel Systems Technician 1" and "2," and some add OCPs covering suspension and steering, drive train, and preventive maintenance. Every component carries zero credit hours and is measured in clock hours. FLDOE requires an average grade of 80% to earn an occupational completion point — a higher bar than most academic coursework. Full-time day programs run roughly ten months; evening programs take about two years.
This is the opening OCP, so there is no course-level prerequisite. Program admission typically requires a TABE basic skills assessment, safety orientation, and student-supplied PPE. Most programs require a valid driver license, and a commercial driver license is often advantageous for employment though rarely required for admission.
Program completion is not certification. The industry credential is ASE Medium/Heavy Truck certification, a series of examinations taken independently. ASE requires documented work experience in addition to passing, so students typically test after entering employment. Many employers pay for testing and offer pay differentials for certified technicians. Manufacturer-specific training — Cummins, Caterpillar, Detroit — is also valued and usually employer-provided.
This is clock-hour CTE and does not carry college credit or transfer as general education. Some Florida colleges award articulated credit toward an A.S. in Automotive or Engineering Technology for completion plus industry certification, under local agreements rather than statewide SCNS equivalency. Confirm with the receiving institution.
Diesel technicians supply their own hand tools, and a working set represents a significant investment that grows over a career. Programs typically specify a required starter set; students should budget for it. Employers generally supply specialty and diagnostic equipment.
Worth telling students plainly: PM work is repetitive and unglamorous, and it is also where shops evaluate whether a helper is worth training further. A helper who inspects thoroughly, documents accurately, and catches a developing problem before it becomes a roadside failure is genuinely valuable to a fleet. A helper who checks boxes without looking is not. Progression to the diagnostic OCPs is usually earned in this work rather than in the classroom.
Generated August 31, 2026 · Updated August 31, 2026