Background

In September 2000 the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, the Virginia Department of Education, Automotive Youth Educational Systems, and the National Automobile Dealers Association signed a landmark partnership focused on better preparing Virginia's automotive technology students for their chosen careers.

The partnership is the brainchild of Dr. Neils W. Brooks, Sr., the State Director of the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education Services; Donald Hall, President of VADA; Don Gray, AYES President; and Carter Myers, owner of the Carter Myers Automotive Group based in Charlottesville. The partnership is designed to involve local dealerships in automotive technology education programs in high schools, developing internship programs for students and assisting local programs in achieving certification from the National Automotive Technicians Educational Foundation (NATEF). While voluntary, NATEF certification signifies that an automotive education program meets uniform standards for instructional facilities, equipment, staff credentials, and curriculum.

Automotive technology careers have changed dramatically over the last 20 years requiring higher degrees of skill and training, with high emphasis on computer skills and strong problem solving skills. Accordingly the career opportunities and rewards have grown to match. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, many Master Technicians earn between $70,000 and $100,000 annually and recent estimates indicate there are more than 60,000 openings for technicians nationwide.

Recognizing these changes and the growing career opportunities, the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education Services developed the program in cooperation with Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES), an educational organization created and backed by most major automobile and truck manufacturing corporations including General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi.

Details

The partnership works in several specific ways.

Schools certified by the AYES program agree to educate their students in four of the eight areas certified by ASE, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. This insures that upon graduation from high school, students are immediately employable by a dealership! Once in a dealership, students can continue their training to obtain complete ASE certification.

The second way this partnership benefits schools, students and dealerships is through the creation of a "Dealer Advisory Board" for each participating school. This allows dealerships to provide direct input into school curriculums in order to help the schools fine-tune their programs. This helps insure that graduating students have the skills dealerships are looking for today!

The third key element is the AYES internship program. During the summer between their Junior and Senior years in high school, students are provided the opportunity to work in a dealership under the guidance of a Mentor, an automotive technician at the dealership who provides one-on-one guidance and oversight for the student. This internship gives the student actual work experience to draw upon during their Senior year and after graduation. Experience counts!

The fourth element of the program is modern equipment. Each year, participating manufacturers donate new vehicles and diagnostic equipment to AYES-certified schools. Since nearly every major manufacturer is an AYES Partner, there is a lot of new equipment to go around. This means that students get the opportunity to train on the modern equipment and vehicles they will be working on following graduation!

Next Steps

If you are an automotive technology student, check out our "Student Info" section to find out more!

If you are a dealership, check out our "Dealership Info" or "Contact Us" to find out how to become involved!

If you are a school interested in joining Virginia's Education Partnership, "Contact Us" to find out more!