AAA and Ford are handing high school students the keys to jumpstart their careers in the automotive repair industry as they team up to reward students for their automotive knowledge and technical skills.
Ten Ohio High Schools will compete at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills contest on Thursday May, 7th beginning at 10 AM at the AAA East Central Independence Branch Office, 5700 Brecksville Road, Independence, OH 44131. The schools participating are as follows: Valley Forge High School, Sentinel Career and Technology Center, Ashtabula County Vocational School, Apollo Career Center, Brush High School, Portage Lake Career Center, Tolles Career and Technology, Lorain County Vocational Center, Kettering Fairmont Career Technical School and Pickaway Ross Career and Technology Center.
“This competition rewards aspiring automotive technicians,” said Lori Cook, AAA East Central Safety Advisor. “Our goal is to inspire them to get the best training possible so that they can embark on promising careers within the automotive repair industry, and possibly with AAA or Ford,” she adds.
Each school will be represented by a two-student team that will race the clock to correctly identify and fix intentionally installed “bugs” on identical 2015 Ford Fiestas. After properly diagnosing and repairing their vehicle, the teammates must drive their assigned vehicle across the finish line, where the car will be inspected for accuracy and workmanship.
The winning team members will represent Ohio at the National Finals in Dearborn, Michigan June 7-9, 2015. At the national finals, champions from each state will vie for millions of dollars in scholarships, automotive equipment and a trip to the Wood Brothers Racing facility where the students and instructor will work on race cars and learn from top automotive engineers. The team with the highest combined scores from the national hands-on competition and written exam will be declared “America’s Next Top Auto Technicians.”
Advancements in automobile safety, fuel management and comfort have led to an increasing reliance on computers and electronic components that make cars operate efficiently. Today’s auto technicians must remain on the cutting edge of advances in computer and electronic technology. They also must be skilled in all aspects of mechanical repair procedures. The Auto Skills contest focuses on students’ abilities in both of these important areas.
Nearly 12,000 11th and 12th grade students nationwide are competing for a chance to represent their school and state in the National Finals.
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit organization with 82 local offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and New York, servicing 2.7 million members.
-AAA-