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Industry profile: 
N.C. Auto Dealers


Dealers Push Tech Training Program

Nationwide, more than 12,000 additional automotive service technicians are needed each year. The shortage has not gone unnoticed. In fact, it’s long been a topic of discussion whenever North Carolina’s dealers congregate.

To address the need, a model business-education partnership was created. Its purpose: promote statewide the Automotive Youth Educational System. AYES, as it’s commonly known, is a nonprofit career-based education program sponsored by 10 auto manufacturers. It seeks to prepare young people with the necessary “head skills” and “hand skills” to meet the needs of ever-sophisticated cars and trucks by building alliances between affiliated schools and nearby dealerships.

The partners in the venture are the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association, the Department of Public Instruction, the community college system and the state’s AYES coordinator. Last May their effort bore fruit. South Stokes High School in Stokes County became the first of 12 targeted schools in North Carolina to be designated an AYES program.

It was David Allgood, the lead automotive instructor at South Stokes, who worked to ensure that the school met the stringent requirements outlined by AYES. Those include:

Obtaining national standards in four automotive areas by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation;

Establishing an active advisory committee, which includes parents, dealers and manufacturers;

Implementing a SkillsUSA-VICA chapter; and

Creating a viable program where students can work in dealerships to gain practical experience.

The designation means that students at the Stokes County school will have available to them the information available to technicians in the field. In addition to their classwork, AYES interns, who must meet a stringent set of criteria just to be admitted to the program, are mentored by experienced technicians. They work, for pay, full time in the summer between their junior and senior years and part-time after school at a participating dealership.

“We’re just ratcheting up the level of knowledge and hands-on experience that the students will get through the program,” says Diane Turner, vice president of the NCADA. “They’re being held to a higher standard than in the past. That will benefit them and, ultimately, the public.”

In addition to learning the obvious — automotive systems — the program helps students build portfolios, prepare resumes, and develop interviewing and communications skills. Henry Barber, who was hired as coordinator of North Carolina’s AYES program in October 2000, has worked as an automotive instructor in the community college system as well as an auto technician. A part of his job is to lay to rest the stale myth that people who choose automotive repair as a career will have difficulty succeeding in other professions.

“Just think about it for a minute,” he says. “Approximately 90 percent of all systems in a new vehicle are computer controlled. And without a doubt the automobile is the most complete physics labs there is. It challenges you with hydraulics, pneumatics and electronics, just to name a few. And just like a doctor, the technician must know where to look and the right questions to ask in order to make a correct diagnosis. Things aren’t always what they seem, so deductive reasoning is critical.”

“We call it ‘grow your own,’ ” says Glenn Barefoot, transportation consultant for trade and industrial education at the N.C. Department of Instruction. “Right now, 13,000 students are enrolled in auto service technology courses. We’re telling AYES-designated schools to get the kids in their area in the program. Train them, have them work in a local dealership and go to the community college. When they’re done, they’ll be hired immediately.”

Typically, entry level salaries for technicians start at around $22,000. That amount rises rapidly as the skill level and amount of formal training progresses. By the second year, income can double. And earnings of $70,000 to $100,000 or more are not unusual for master technicians.

The goal is to have two more AYES programs in place by the end of the year and four additional ones by next summer. Moore County is the next area scheduled to launch AYES. In all, 160 secondary schools and 46 community colleges throughout the state have automotive programs.

Rocky Mount’s David Farris, chairman of NCADA’s board, has cautioned his fellow dealers that implementing national standards in 160 automotive programs won’t be an easy task. But it will be worthwhile, he says, because “it will certainly improve the quality of entry-level technicians (hired) in the years to come.”  -- Lisa H. Towle

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