Helping to shape the future of the automotive industry.
The Ford / AAA Student Auto Skills competition fosters young people’s interest in the automotive industry through a spirited nationwide competition with opportunities to win prizes, scholarships, tools and awards along with an experience that could help shape the future of their careers.
LISD TECH Center students placed second in the State of Michigan and both young men received :
- Over 30,000 dollars in scholarships to many different colleges and Tech schools
- Arin Morgan, Tecumseh, received a 6,000 dollar scholarship to University of Northwest Ohio, where he has been accepted and is planning on attending in the fall
- Josh Fitzpatric, Blissfield, has been accepted into the John Deere Technician program at Owens college. He starts classes in the fall.
The competition is co-sponsored by AAA and Ford Motor Company. Its objective is to encourage talented young people to pursue careers as automotive service technicians. AAA and Ford wholeheartedly support this objective and are committed to this program as an investment in the future of our young people and improved automotive service for AAA members, Ford Motor Company customers and all motorists.
Everyone who registers gets the opportunity to demonstrate their automotive knowledge and qualify for prizes by taking a written exam. Those students scoring the highest (typically the top ten teams) participate in a “hands-on” competition within their respective state, challenging students to diagnose and fix uniformly “bugged” new Ford vehicles as quickly as possible while ensuring quality workmanship.
This year, 866 instructors registered 13,753 students for the online state qualifying competition exam. The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills program helps to ensure future technicians are well-educated to meet ongoing changes in the industry. Each year, students compete for nearly $12 million in scholarships and prizes.
Ford Motor Company and AAA are proud to sponsor the competition as it develops the talent necessary to meet the growing needs of the auto industry. With more jobs available than workers to fill, a career as an automotive technician provides a promising future. Ford provides students technical career entry programs, such as its Automotive Student Service Education Associate’s degree in Automotive Technology, (ASSET) and AAA offers internships and employment opportunities available at AAA repair facilities.
Our sincere thanks to Calvin Vanderkooi, Service Manager, and Kevin King, Senior Service Technician, at Dave Knapp Ford who not only helped the students prepare for this competition BUT loaned a car, for them to practice on, to the LISD Automotive Services Technology class.