WANADA/Ford Tech Training

WANADA/Ford Tech Training

Program Kicks Off Third Year

Dealers Urged to Attend Kick-Off Meeting, May 6

Now recognized as one of Fordês best tech training programs, the WANADA/Ford Apprenticeship Technician Training Program will kick off its third year this spring with a meeting for all area Ford product dealers on Tuesday, May 6, 9:00 a.m., at Kenwood Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

The program is a proven success, says Archie Avedisian, who, together with Bill Belew and Mike Wilson, make up the WANADA tech training team. We now have 34 apprentice technicians who are in the program and are productively employed at area dealerships.

We enthusiastically urge dealers to take advantage of this great opportunity to acquire skilled technicians which everyone needs and come to the meeting in May and tell us how many apprentices they want so we can start recruiting them for them you, he added.

Supported by Ford funding with substantial recruitment, screening and ongoing follow-up support from WANADA, the program is open to all Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda and Volvo dealers. Marshall Academy in Falls Church, Virginia and Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland currently serve as training centers for state-of-the-art apprentice training programs provided by Ford, as well as vehicles, equipment, tools, engine transmissions, shop manuals, self-study guides and computer software.

Student apprentices receive college credit for six hours of classroom instruction each week, while working 40 hours a week at participating dealerships for on-the-job training. The goal is for students to complete the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) examinations and become certified automobile master technicians. ASE certification levels are used as progress benchmarks, with steady pay increases for each level achieved. The apprentice receives 32 college credits when he/she completes the program. Equally important are the Ford FMT certifications that are required by Ford for any repair done under warranty.

Two important keys to the success of the program are identification of qualified applicants and follow-up during training. The WANADA team has already begun speaking to high school groups and interviewing high school seniors interested in the program. After applicants are reviewed and accepted, WANADA begins assigning students to participating dealerships where they will work this summer. The May meeting will serve to confirm the number of participating dealers offering apprenticeship openings.

WANADA emphasizes to students and instructors alike that the Ford/WANADA program complements AYES and other high school level pre apprentice training programs in the Washington metropolitan area, many of which are also sponsored by WANADA.

For example, through its partnership with the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES), WANADA has recruited and trained applicants for auto technician careers. So far, WANADA has processed 137 applicants.

The WANADA/Ford apprenticeship training is a great post high school opportunity to advance their skills to the master technician level, says Belew. Once they are in the program, we call and visit all the students to make sure they are doing well and that service directors and managers are satisfied with their progress.

The WANADA/Ford program has also been featured in several favorable press reports, which have said that more than 60,000 automotive service technician jobs are going begging in the U.S. right now; the Department of Labor predicts there will be 35,000 more vacancies by 2010.

Automakers are now forced to compete for skilled employees with other high-tech industries, which is tough, because so many people still think of auto mechanics as grease monkeys, said a recent report on WTOP Radio. In a recent Automotive Retailing Today survey of 1,500 teens, parents and educators about career choices, only two percent of the teens said they would consider automotive training. That proportion jumped to 65 percent when the kids learned that computer-savvy master technicians can earn $100,000 a year.

Thatês why it is so important for dealers and educators to support this program, which is one of the most successful tech training programs anywhere, says Belew. The program helps fill the tremendous demand for skilled, high-tech and well paid technicians. So come on out May 6 and weêll talk about it.

For more information on all technician training programs in the region, contact Archie Avedisian or Bill Belew at WANADA, (202) 237-7200.