CareerTech-AYES Partnership Critical
to Auto Service Future

Story By Ann Houston and Jeremy Porter

By 2005 the automotive service market will demand 65,000 workers to keep up with the vehicles on the road, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Yet, the average age of a full-time technician is 48 years old, with many retiring or challenged by new technology.

To fill the gap, the auto-repair workforce needs to grow by 35,000 a year for the next decade. Yet post-high school auto-repair programs turn out only about 10,000 a year. According to the BLS, that leaves a shortfall of 25,000 workers.

To meet the future needs, the automotive industry and the federal and state departments of education and labor are taking a leading role in implementing the instructional strategies that are being piloted in Oklahoma, according to Roger Tadajewski. Tadajewski is the national manager for Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) and offices at Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City.

In response to the projected gap, the AYES initiative was launched as a pilot program with Oklahoma’s CareerTech system in 1995. Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s automotive service technology program in Oklahoma City was first selected to test the program, which was quickly followed by four more of the 29 technology centers in Oklahoma.

Today, the AYES initiative can be found in 16 technology centers in Oklahoma.

“AYES is a dynamic partnership among participating automotive manufacturers, participating local dealers, and selected local high schools/tech prep schools,” Tadajewski said.

“The 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.”

That’s why the newly appointed AYES president and chief executive officer, Larry Cummings, recently visited Oklahoma. He wanted to learn about the partnership between AYES and Oklahoma’s CareerTech system. “I first heard about the Oklahoma CareerTech program while at the Skills USA-VICA National Conference in Kansas City this spring,” said Cummings. “I made it a point to come directly to Oklahoma to learn about the program and how their curriculum can help AYES grow.”

Larry Cummings

Together, AYES and Oklahoma 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.

“I once heard in a speech that if transportation fails, our country will be in trouble,” Cummings said. “We are a society that relies heavily on transportation and automobiles. In the past, people lived close to the core of sparsely populated towns or cities. Today we are so spread out that we can’t function without transportation. It has become a part of our lives.”

The automotive industry is now the world’s largest computer manufacturer producing computers and accessories required for vehicles to run, said Matt Boyles, Oklahoma AYES state manager. The industry is changing to meet the standards necessary to maintain these mobile computers.

“Through combined efforts, we are making a difference in today’s automotive repair industry. The average salary in Oklahoma for technicians is $38,000 a year with benefits,” Boyles said.

Cummings is concerned about growing a workforce of young people who will service these modes of transportation.

“In today’s service industry you need a mix of the new and the experienced technicians,” Cummings said. “Auto repair is no longer simply hammers and wrenches, but a high tech application of very expensive diagnostics and reasoning. It’s becoming a white coat job. The field has changed so much that a young person who starts early can end up with a six-figure salary before retirement.”