AAA to Hold Skills Competition for Student Auto Technicians

BURNSVILLE, Minn., May 3, 2005 -- AAA and Ford once again will determine the best young auto technicians in the country. Iowa students will compete in the hands-on portion of the statewide Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition on Tuesday, May 10, 2005, at the Des Moines Area Community College (2006 South Ankeny Boulevard, Building 13, Ankeny).

Contest preparation will begin at 8 a.m., competition held 9:30 - 11 a.m., and award ceremony at 12 p.m.

The initial qualifying written exams were administered during February and March. The top ranking teams now will compete in two-student teams, racing against a clock to diagnose and repair identically "bugged" vehicles. These teams include:

  Des Moines Central Campus, Des Moines
  Students:  Dallas Spartan and Jacob Nicholson
  Instructor:  James Nelson

  Hempstead High School, Dubuque
  Students:  Jake Smith and Mark Grothe
  Instructor:  Wayne Siebert

  KCC Cedar County Career Academy, Cedar Rapids
  Students:  Nick Yerington and Shane Doerscher
  Instructor:  Jonathan Zobel

  KCC Prairie Career Academy, Cedar Rapids
  Students:  Daniel Daman and Justin Westlund
  Instructor:  Charles Hining

  Le Mars Community High School, Le Mars
  Students:  Nicholas Kroeger and Trevor Oetken
  Instructor:  Paul Fischer

  Perry High School, Perry
  Students:  Cory Sheeny and Ian Moore
  Instructor:  Dale Schumacher

  Southwestern Community College, Creston
  Students:  Ryan Sundquist and Eric King
  Instructor:  Jeffrey Sorensen

  Waukon High School, Waukon
  Students:  Brandon Bublitz and Luke Howard
  Instructor:  Bill Blagsvedt

  West Delaware High School, Manchester
  Students:  Andrew Bottelman and Ben Steffen
  Instructor:  Jason Guyer

  Western Iowa Tech, Sioux City
  Students:  Carl Amundson and Weston Smith
  Instructor:  Nate Woodford

The winning team will advance to the national competition, held June 25-27, in which teams from all 50 states will compete in another written exam and hands-on competition to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. More than $5 million in scholarships and prizes will be awarded to participants.

"The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition encourages teens to explore the automotive technology field and to continue their education," said Gary Klopp, director, Automotive Services, AAA Minnesota/Iowa. "More skilled technicians are needed, with not only a mechanical aptitude, but also strong computer and electronic aptitude."

In addition, there is a growing need to infuse young talent into a field in which numbers have been declining recently. Industry figures report a shortage of approximately 32,000 service technicians nationally. As of the latest U.S. Department of Labor report, the need for new technicians will increases as much as 20 percent by the year 2012.

Organizers of the event also point to the financial benefit of this career. Starting salaries for certified, entry-level technicians are approximately $30,000 - $35,000 per year, according to John Nielsen, Director of AAA Approved Auto Repair program. Additionally, master technicians in some areas can earn between $70,000 - $100,000 annually.

Competitions in each state and at the national level are organized with the support of AAA's Approved Auto Repair program, Ford personnel and local educators.

Teams that win at both the state and national level will receive scholarship funds for two Ford automotive training programs: ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational Training) or FACT (Ford Accelerated Credential Training). Scholarships won in the national competition come from some of the nation's top technical schools.

AAA offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA Minnesota/Iowa is part of The Auto Club Group, with 4.1 million members in eight Midwest states.