TADA Fully Supports AYES
For More Information contact: Joe Thigpen
Organization Summary
Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES), a 501(c)(3)
organization, was formed in 1997 as the first national business and
educational partnership to develop a national solution to the shortage
of young automotive technicians. AYES, envisioned by Jack
Smith of General Motors, is a partnership of National Automobile Dealers
Association (NADA), 12 participating automotive manufacturers, 4,274
participating automotive dealers, 34 state and metro automotive trade
associations (ATAEs), 16 State Departments of Education, and 430+
selected high schools/vocational schools. It is designed to
encourage young people to consider satisfying careers in service
technology and prepare them for entry-level career positions or advanced
studies in this field.
Key Elements of the AYES
Process
The AYES model and process is nationally recognized for
its requirement that affiliated schools meet the national standards
(NATEF) relating to curriculum, training process and facilities, operate
under the guidance of a local Business and Education Council, and
include process components that require job shadowing, participation in
SkillsUSA employability training, CCAR's safety and environmental
training, and a mentored internship under a trained senior dealership
technician. Successful completion of all aspects of this education and
experiential process will result in employment as an entry-level
technician. Consequently, the AYES model is a comprehensive process for
the new car and truck dealerships to "grow their own technicians" within
the communities they serve.
In 2006, the AYES model and process was available to
over 11,000 dealers across the nation through its 400+ affiliated school
programs in 46 states. It has exhibited tremendous growth from 22
participating schools and 32 mentored interns in 1996 to 430 schools and
1,745 interns in the 2005-2006 school year.
The AYES model features the following key elements:
-
- Execution of a Letter of Understanding (LOU) with a NATEF-certified
high school which provides the enriched AYES-developed automotive
curriculum encompassing not only the automotive technology or collision
and repair, but environmental and safety training through CCAR, and
employability skills through the SkillsUSA PDP experience.
- Creation of local dealer involvement through a business and
education (B&E) partnership that provides local oversight and input
specific to the area
- Job shadowing experience for interested students
- Paid mentor-based internship in a local dealership during the summer
between the junior and senior years
- Tool scholarship consisting of $3,000 in tools and rolling cabinet
at a discounted price of approximately $1,100 which gives a future
technician a running start (tool costs are often a barrier to a new
technician). The cost of the tools is split between the student and
dealer and the tools become property of student after two years of
employment at the dealer following graduation (student pays only
one-third of the original cost)
- Exit exams that measure academic achievement as well as acquired
skill level in the automotive technology
-
- Transition to full-time employment at the interned dealership at the
completion of the high school education with the opportunity of
post-secondary education through the OEM-specific training programs at a
local community college or certificate provider.
Recently, AYES has begun an implementation of an
e-learning process that will extend the AYES process to all
participating dealers even if they are not in the proximity
of AYES-affiliated schools. This 21 month-long process includes an
aggregated curriculum from a minimum of three content providers and is
delivered in 300 successive learning modules. Each lesson is followed by
a quiz which tests student’s comprehension of the material.
Student’s attendance scores and progress are gathered using a
SmartCard system. The SmartCard authenticates and validates the
student’s identity as well as provides a secure pathway to the
AYES e-learning server. Student’s performance is
periodically reported to AYES, participating school, and the dealer.
Lessons cannot be taken except on the day presented but the student can
review prior material at all times. Access to the curriculum will be
limited through the SmartCard and through the participating dealership.
This will ensure full delivery of the structured learning opportunity at
the dealership under the watchful eye of the student’s mentor. In
addition, the online process incorporates elements of SkillsUSA PDP
(employability training) and CCAR (safety and environmental training).
Naturally, the e-learning process includes the hands-on training
as well as a paid summer internship at the participating dealer.
The historic AYES process has always been a
participating dealer "pull" system; AYES provides a process to identify
and prepare quality young men and women through education and
experiential interface to ensure that the student and the dealer are
"pulled" together in a common process to "grow a technician" from the
area based on an identified need. The AYES model and process does not
deliver a curriculum to a class and "push" students into the marketplace
to find careers.
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