career connection
specialty training
Filling the Gap in
Automotive Tech
Did you know that roughly half of all
mechanics will be eligible for retirement
in just 15 years?
The trend to push high school students toward traditional fouryear college degrees has had a negative impact on the skilled
trades, creating a gap with too few workers qualified to replace
retirees.
According to the National Bureau
of Labor Statistics, the labor
force is expected to add
39,100 new auto tech
jobs by 2024.
Skilled trades can often provide great job security and better
salaries than some four-year degrees, but this doesn’t mean that
a postsecondary education isn’t beneficial; teens need to have a
plan to get the right training in order to have the best chance of
success in their trade. With auto tech degree programs that
incorporate classroom instruction, hands-on training, shop
experience, and even cooperative education opportunities with
dealerships, students can work and earn while training in skills
that are relevant and marketable.
Winter 2016
The Alabama Center for Automotive Excellence
currently offers three such dealership-sponsored
programs at Lawson State Community College:
Ford ASSET
Source: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/
automotive-service-technicians-and-mechanics.htm
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“If there is such a thing as job security, it’s
in the trades,” said Tony Molla, Vice
President of Communications for the
National Institute for Automotive
Service Excellence.
Only the Ford ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational
Training) program offers Service Technician Specialty Training
(STST) credentials, a requirement at Ford and Lincoln dealerships.
ASSET is a 24-month program which alternates web-based and
classroom academics with hands-on work at sponsoring Ford
and Lincoln dealerships. Graduates earn an Associate Degree in
Automotive Technology and receive the same training technicians
would receive at Ford Training Centers.
General Motors ASEP
GM ASEP (Automotive Service Education Program) teaches
exclusively on current GM products, incorporating advanced
automotive technical training with a strong academic foundation
of math, electronics, analytical and technical skills. Students
alternate between the classroom and hands-on work experience
at a sponsoring GM dealership to earn an Associate’s Degree in
Automotive Technology or a similar degree, all while gaining
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