Purpose
The purpose of the Ford Motor Company/American Automobile Association (AAA) Student Auto Skills Competition is to encourage talented young people to pursue careers as automotive service technicians. Ford Motor Company and AAA wholeheartedly support this program and are committed to it as an investment in the future of our young people and improved automotive service for all motorists.
Program/Services
This is a nationwide competition for eleventh and twelfth grade students in secondary schools that offer courses in automotive technology and have at least one full-time or part-time automotive instructor. Schools may enter two to eight students per automotive instructor.
Each participating instructor selects the best students to take a written examination, which is administered by each state’s Department of Education. In California, there are approximately 25 testing locations within an hour’s drive of participating schools. In most states, the ten teams scoring highest on the written exam then move into the hands-on state finals scheduled each year in late April or early May.
In the hands-on competition, new Ford Motor Company vehicles are uniformly “bugged” so that each team has identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair. The competition requires repairs to be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time. California, because of its size and automotive transportation focus, has north and south competitions occurring simultaneously, with the lowest scoring time and least demerits being declared the winning team for California. The winning two-person team from each state and their instructor are provided an all expenses-paid trip to the national finals in June, normally held in Washington, D.C. At the national competition, teams from across the nation again take hands-on and written examinations. The team with the fewest quality-of-workmanship demerits and the best combined total score of repair time and written examination is declared the winner.
Outcomes
Students, instructors, and schools have the opportunity to earn savings bonds, scholarships, trophies, clothing, certificates, shop manuals, trips and automotive equipment. Opportunities with the Ford Automotive Student Service Educational Training program (ASSET) will be available to many of the competition finalists.
Funding
Funding for this national competition comes mainly from Ford Motor Company and the California State Automobile Association (CSAA). While no direct funding is provided by the California Department of Education, funding for staff time is included in the ROCP Unit operating budget to assist as a member of the Technical Committee coordinating the contest and written test locations, administering written tests and judging the hands-on competitions.
Students Served
In California, approximately 200 students take the written exam; forty students compete in the hands-on competition (10 teams of 2 students in both northern and southern California). This is based on the number of respondents to the applications sent out in November/December each year.
Results
Students are awarded bonds, tools, clothing, vehicle and equipment donations as prizes in the contests. Names of all contestants are submitted to Ford Motor Co. dealers, CSAA service facilities, and many other sponsoring organizations that have need for automotive service technicians. The competition promotes the training and certification of top quality automotive service technicians working in high demand, high paying career opportunities in the automotive repair industry.
Contact Information
The Ford/AAA Program is administered by:
California Department of Education
Secondary, Postsecondary, and Adult Leadership Division
Regional Occupational Centers and Programs and Workforce Development Unit
1430 N Street, Suite 4503
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dara Dubois
Education Programs Consultant
916-445-7754
ddubois@cde.ca.gov
