Auto Manufacturers’ Investment with CareerTech Pays Off

Story by Ann Houston
Communications and Marketing

In the near future the new car you buy will last three times as long as it would have 10 years ago. That means car owners will be going in more often for maintenance and service with fewer repairs.

According to industry officials, today’s automobile industry is building cars to have a lifespan of 200,000 miles. With new technology, a growing need for skilled specialists to maintain them has been created.

Thanks to a successful partnership piloted in 1995 between Oklahoma’s CareerTech system and the automotive industry, skilled technicians will be in place to provide that service, according to recently released statistics by the Automotive Youth Education System (AYES).

The AYES goal is to encourage bright students with a good mechanical aptitude to pursue careers in the ever-changing fields of automotive service technology or collision repair/refinish, and to prepare them for entry-level positions or challenging academic options, according to Kristen Davis, National AYES education and training manager.

“In the AYES partnership, automotive manufacturers and participating local dealers provide the hands-on learning and mentor support for high school students from 17 of Oklahoma’s technology center districts,” Davis said.

Findings from a recent national AYES Alumni Survey shows that 80 percent of program graduates are currently working in the automotive field with 72 percent as a dealership technician, Davis said.

Davis recently visited four of the 17 districts that are providing instruction for the AYES program, which included Meridian Technology Center, Stillwater; Moore Norman Technology Center; Tulsa Technology Center and Francis Tuttle, Oklahoma City.

“I came to capture the vision of three or four of the technology center partners in the AYES program,” Davis said. “Industry helps provide the resources and support for instruction of the program in a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Contributions through AYES to programs across the country amounts to millions of dollars annually in vehicles, components, banners and a large variety of instructional materials, as well as electronic resources, Davis said.

Recently, General Motors contributed 40 engines worth $3,000 each and 84 four-cylinder engines worth $2,500 to the 17 AYES technology center sites in Oklahoma, according to Matt Boyles, Oklahoma AYES State Manager. Honda also contributed white bodies (no engine or electrical) for body work experience.”

The payoff is worth the investment to these auto manufacturers with several former AYES interns now serving as the program’s mentors, Boyles said.

“Currently cars are built to last about 200,000 miles. Ten years ago, a car was lucky to make it to 100,000. Engines are built to last 200,000 miles now, but every other function has to also live that long,” Boyles said.

Technicians will need to be prepared to service vehicles through computer diagnostics – which will become standard in vehicle maintenance – with less and less mechanical work.

“Technicians will need to be trained to work on hybrid and economical automobiles that use alternative fuels and vehicles that use 42 volt systems rather than the current 12 volt systems,” Boyles said. “These systems will require more amps and electrical for the complex computers that control the vehicles for such technology as voice activated windows and Global Positioning Systems.”

Together, AYES and Oklahoma’s CareerTech system have created a national model now serving 44 states, with the projection of serving all 50 states by 2004.

Since AYES was founded by General Motors, 11 other automobile manufacturers have partnered supporting AYES, including Audi, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

To learn more about the AYES program please visit the website at http://www.ayes.org/index.asp