Opportunities for Female Students in September

Second Automotive Aftermarket Women's Career Day at THE MONSTER MILE!
Building on the success of last year's Women's Automotive Career Day, the Car Care Council Women's Board Industry Relations Committee is pleased to announce its second event! To showcase the career opportunities within the automotive aftermarket, the WB will be visiting the Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. on Friday, Sept. 21, 2007.

Participants will hear guest speakers from all facets of the automotive aftermarket and racing industry. Lunch is included and the day will be topped off with an on-site garage tour! The event is open to female students ages 18-34.

To register a student or for more information, contact Kimberlee Berry at 240-333-1026 or e-mail kimberlee.berry@aftermarket.org. A full agenda and more information will be available soon at http://www.magnetmail1.net/ls.cfm?r=31826202&sid=2551150&m=338156&u=AutoAfterM&s=http://women.carcare.org.

7101 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 1300, Bethesda, MD, 20814

AYES Conference Opening Session Inspires Instructors

Samuel Brenton, Kansas State University student, opened the AYES Conference with the Lee Greenwood hit "Proud to Be an American", set to video. He recently graduated with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Vocal Performance. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Brenton spoke of the impact an automotive teacher had on his life. Brenton had been home-schooled for most of his life, but at one point began to go to public school. His automotive teacher, Mr. Shoemaker, took the time to get to know him and he inspired Brenton to greatness in everything he did. He "helped me understant that manufacturing was my niche and encouraged me to get involved in SkilsUSA. I have been to the National SkillsUSA conference 5 times now and it is the highlight of each year. " From Mr. Shoemaker, I learned to never stop showing my passion. I urge you (meaning the instructors in attendance) to never stop showing us your passion. You have made an amazine impact on the lives of many. Your service leads to our success.

Tim Lawrence, of Skills USA had this to contribute, "You have students that you lift up and challenge and inspire every day. You truly inspire, you truly are the greatest people in this country that inspire students and move them along in life." At that point, a representative from Snap-on Tools presented a check for $83,000 to Skills USA for the student travel fund, to help develop student leadership across the country.

2007 AYES Training Conference

The 2007 AYES Training Conference is upon us. Tomorrow's Technician editor, Ed Sunkin, and I will be headed north this afternoon to join the rest of the Conference attendees at the beautiful Dearborn Hyatt Regency. The Conference began yesterday with a computer lab from 5 p.m. to 10 pm, as well as an Instructor Troubleshooting Competition from 7 pm to 9 pm. AYES provides a full week of opportunity for instructors to update their education, as well as network with each other and other automotive industry personnel. Today, from 8 a.m. to 5.15 p.m., they have two separate training sessions. One is Automotive Technology Technical Training and will include instruction on Brakes, Engine Performance, Electrical/Electronics, and Steering/Suspension. At the same time, there will be a full day of Collision Repair and Refinish training, led by PPG, DuPont, Akzo Nobel, Sherwin Williams, and BASF. AYES is serious about educating the educator!

This evening we'll attend the Manufacturer Welcome Dinner, sponsored by General Motors Corporation, followed by a few hours of hospitality. Last year, the dinner featured several interesting speakers from the major supporters of AYES. The hospitality provided us with a great opportunity to mingle with the instructors and school administrators. Generally, discussion centered around the kind of information you want us to provide with Tomorrow's Technician. We received a lot of great feedback and Ed and I are looking forward to another productive evening in Dearborn tonight.

Tomorrow and Thursday the training will continue. Wednesday's focus will be on AYES Model Training, and Thursday features Enrichment Training. I admire the AYES model because (from what I have seen) it provides a strong platform upon which each school can build a robust automotive program, and ultimately bring well-trained repair technicians into the automotive repair world. It seems as though they provide a lot of materials and support for both the instructor and school administrators.

The Rump Guard

Not exciting, but a great idea. I saw this on Toolmonger.com and had to share it. My apologies for not coming up with something original today. But I saw this, loved it, and loved the price. (Had to edit to remove bad language, this is a PG-rated blog spot, and I think Toolmonger.com can get a little more colorful in their commentary.) But, this looks perfect for new technicians and mature technicians, anyone who uses tools professionally or a DIYer.

Despite owning tool belts and tool aprons, for some reason my tools always seem to end up in my back pocket, inevitably poking holes through my jeans and into my bum. Duluth’s Rump Guard looks like a possible solution. Think of it as a bullet-proof pocket protector for your a__: it’s made from denim and Kevlar – a 73% cotton / 21% polyester / 6% Kevlar blend.
Its snap loop connects to your belt, allowing you to position its handy pocket protector for maximum comfort. It also more than doubles the capacity of your jeans pocket, adding numerous additional compartments for tools and gear, plus a dangling hook to carry tape.
Plus, its street pricing of $13 is a lot cheaper than torn-up jeans — or worse yet, torn up you.
Kevlar Denim Rump Guard [Duluth Trading]
PS: Does anyone else feel like Duluth Trading is like the J. Peterman Company of tools, complete with their witty descriptions and hand-drawn illustration?

And the Winner is.....

SOURCE: Auto Club of So. Calif.Jun 26, 2007 15:10 ETSan Luis Obispo High School Students Win 2007 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National ChampionshipDEARBORN, MI--(Marketwire - June 26, 2007) -

Two students from San Luis Obispo, Calif. beat students from 49 other states to win the 2007 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Championship today. The competition, sponsored by Ford Motor Co. and AAA, is designed to find the most talented young auto technicians in the U.S.San Luis Obispo High 2007 graduates Daniel Lehmkuhl and Austin Castro took just 49 minutes and 6 seconds to repair their bugged Ford Fusion at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. They were coached by San Luis Obispo High Industrial Tech Instructor Jeff Lehmkuhl, also Daniel's father, and accompanied to the contest by the Auto Club's Motor Sports Manager Rick Lalor. The California team was one of eight teams that perfectly repaired the deliberately bugged cars. They also took a written exam which was part of their final score."We're really pleased," said Jeff Lehmkuhl. "We went to make California proud and we're pretty happy now. We were sweating it out when the kids took about 10 extra minutes to fix a couple of bad window switches, but the higher written scores on the exam carried us to the top."When asked if the win was that much sweeter because he was coaching his son, Lehmkuhl, 44, replied, "I'm thrilled. Daniel's been helping me in the auto shop at the high school since he was about 5 years old. And this is also a huge victory for Austin as well. He'll get a full scholarship to attend a technical institute or college."

Each member of the first team receives numerous scholarships and awards from today's championship, including a $2,500 general education scholarship from Ford Motor Co. and AAA; full tuition scholarship to the University of Northwestern Ohio; full tuition scholarship to the Lincoln College of Technology; full tuition scholarship to Universal Technical Institute; full tuition scholarship to Ohio Technical College and a school trophy; and an opportunity to earn-as-they-learn at a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership.Trained automotive technicians are among the most sought-after and highly paid professionals in today's job market, but many high schools are reducing or eliminating automotive programs due to lack of funding and/or trained teachers. AAA sponsors the skills contest as part of its educational efforts to attract and train more young people to the automotive professions."This win really puts our program on the map nationally," said Jeff Lehmkuhl. "I hope that this win will attract more interest from students, and speaking as a teacher, point them in a direction that's positive and into a field that's rewarding, needs good people and also pays well."

As vehicles become more advanced, Ford and AAA have partnered to assure that the new generation of automotive technicians is well educated to service the public's motoring needs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the auto industry will have an average of 34,000 job openings per year through 2014, based on growth and net replacement needs. More than 7,500 students from all 50 states vied for a chance to be in the final national competition."For Daniel and Austin today is the result of months of hard work and determination," said Lalor. "It's important that the automotive industry attract talented and driven young men and women to the field to keep the motoring public safe in their automobiles."I

n May, the San Luis Obispo High team earned the California state competition by achieving the highest score among the 10 two-student teams at Irwindale Speedway, as well as beating the scores of 10 two-student teams who were competing simultaneously in Northern California. The San Luis Obispo students each won multiple college scholarships, tools and a powertrain package for finishing on top in the California competition.Lehmkuhl has taken San Luis Obispo High student teams to the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Championship in previous years where they finished 2nd, 4th, and 20th. His 2007 team logged 80 hours preparing for their state competition and simulated and corrected vehicle problems, reviewed numerous text books and pored over a donated vehicle to prepare for the national championship.The top five finishers in today's national competition were: California, Michigan, Colorado, No. Carolina, and Virginia.

Congratulations to all who participated! All 50 teams were tops in their state. I had the honor to be a judge for the North Carolina team. Kyle and Evan - You did a great job! Evan Martin and Kyle Wishlinski are graduates of Lake Norman High School, and their instructor was Martin Page. Absolutely wonderful team of technicians!

Ford/AAA National Auto Skills Competition 2007

Tomorrow's Technician Editor Ed Sunkin, Brake and Front End Editor Andrew Markel, and I will be driving up to Dearborn, Michigan on Sunday to help judge the Ford/AAA National Auto Skills Competition. Last year was my first time as a judge and it was a great experience. It is inspiring to see enthusiastic young men and women come together to compete against each other as they try to become national champions. They are all so enthusiastic and nervous, yet they are very well-prepared. They are all required to wear a uniform as they work through the mechanical side of the competition. Last year Ford provided 50 beautiful, brand-new mustangs for these young men and women to tend. As part of the competition, the students are also given written tests. The combined written and mechanical scores determine the national champions.


How the Competition Works
This is a nationwide competition for 11th and 12th grade students in secondary schools and colleges (serving local high schools) that offer courses in automotive technology and have at least one full-time or part-time automotive instructor. Schools may enter a team of two to ten 11th and/or 12th grade students per full time automotive instructor, but each instructor must apply individually.
Each participating instructor selects his best 11th or 12th grade auto technology students to take the state qualifying exam which is taken on line and administered by a test administrator at the school
The combined score of the two highest scoring students from each school becomes the team score and counts 40% in the state finals.
In most states the ten teams scoring highest on the state qualifying exam then move on to 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.
The winning two-person team from each state and their instructor are provided expense-paid trips to the national finals in June.
At the national competition, each member of the 50 state teams will take a written exam. Errors on the written exams are converted into time demerits that are added to the team's time on the "hands-on" mechanical competition in both the state and national competition.
Each vehicle in the competition is supervised by a team judge who supplies new parts upon request. When a team believes it has returned its vehicle to normal working order the hood is closed, signaling the timer to stop the team's clock. The team and its judge then take the vehicle on a short road test.
The team may then return the vehicle to its work area for further diagnosis and repair, or proceed to final judging.
The team with the fewest quality-of-workmanship demerits and the best combined total score of repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.

What Do You Know about Women?

In the United States:

Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases - and 65% of New Car purchases

Women are 50.7% of the population

Women are 46.4% of the labor force

Women are 50.6% of the managerial/professional specialty positions

Women are 16.4% of the corporate officers and executive managers

1 out of 3 women earn more than men

1/3 of all respondents in a nationwide survey of women homeowners said they would rather receive a dozen tools than a dozen roses.

According to AskPatty.com, a website dedicated to providing excellent automotive advice for women, many dealerships are missing out when they approach a woman in their parking lot. I thought I would share this information with you, as you consider how to work with women in the future.

The top two things women want in a vehicle are safety & reliability. Women represent 73% of facility repair customers. If you are not training your students to be good communicators with women, you should consider it for the future. It is likely that women will represent an even larger portion of the repair-buying market. It is also equally likely that women will represent a larger percentage of working technicians as more women enter automotive education courses.