California Students Win 2007 Ford/AAA Auto Skills Competition
California Students Win 2007 Ford/AAA Auto Skills Competition
(Photo: Bob Brodbeck-AAA Michigan)DEARBORN, MI - Daniel Lehmkuhl and Austin Castro of San Luis Obispo High School of California were declared the winners of the 14th annual 2007 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals competition, recently held at Ford's World Headquarters. The competition encourages high school students to pursue careers in the automotive field, where there is a shortage of qualified, trained technicians. The program, the only one of its kind in the United States, also educates students about increasing career opportunities. Teams placing first through 10th in the Ford/AAA contest received general education scholarships valued from $2,500 to $400 from Ford and AAA, as well as full-to-partial scholarships to top-rated automotive technical colleges. "The additional training these young contestants will receive in technical colleges can open many doors for them at Ford and in our dealer network, paving the way to lucrative automotive careers," says Frank Ligon, director of Service Engineering Operations, Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD). Another FCSD spokesperson, Steve DeAngelis, global manager of Technical Support Operations, Service Engineering Operations, says that Ford alone recruits 600 to 700 students from the annual competition into its training programs every year.
(Photo: Bob Brodbeck-AAA Michigan)
The competition stresses the need for diagnostic and problem-solving skills, mathematics and electronics knowledge, and mechanical aptitude to understand how to service increasingly technology-driven vehicles. The competition began with more than 7,500 students from across the country competing to determine 50 state championship teams. The state winners squared off in a two-part national final, which consisted of a written exam followed by a timed, hands-on portion where they raced to correctly diagnose and repair identically "bugged" Ford Fusions.
"We felt fairly relaxed during the competition," Lehmkuhl says. "It was just us against the car."
By topping a field of 50 teams - one from each state - the California teens each receive a $2,500 general education scholarships from Ford and AAA and their choice of full tuition scholarships from one of several technical colleges. The two champions also had a private visit with Ford CEO and President Alan Mulally following the event.
"This is a great time to embark on an automotive service career," says Ligon. "The additional training these young contestants will receive in technical colleges can open many doors for them."
* In 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available, the automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance industries earned an estimated $44 billion. The industry has averaged 3.3 percent growth per year since 1998, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
* The auto industry will need 35,000 new technicians every year through 2010.
* Entry-level technicians earn approximately $30,000 to $35,000 per year, and Master Technicians in some areas have annual salaries that reach into the $70,000 to $100,000 range.
* Industry-wide, approximately 90 percent of auto shop owners and managers offer employee benefits such as paid vacations. Additionally, more than half offer retirement plans.
* Almost 15 percent of automotive technicians are self-employed.
(Source: U.S. Department of Labor "Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007 Edition")
He added that high demand for skilled workers will continue to grow as the number of vehicles continues to rise, more alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles requiring new skills enter the marketplace and older automotive service professionals retire.
"Daniel and Austin proved they are America's most auto-savvy teens," says Allan Stanley, manager of Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills. "Their hard work and drive to be the top high school auto technicians is typical of all of the participants in the competition. The auto industry must attract such dedicated young people to keep America's vehicles operating safely and trouble-free."
(Sources: AAA, Ford,
USBLS)
