TROY, Mich. — More than 500 Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) program instructors and administrators from AYES affiliated schools converged upon Dearborn, Mich., July 21-25 for the 13th annual AYES training Conference, the largest event of its kind in the U.S.

Jim Press, vice chairman and president of Chrysler LLC and current chairman of AYES, keynoted the conference. Press talked about the impact of his high school experience in automotive service technology. He urged attendees to remain positive about the future of education and the automotive industry, citing the importance of the vision of AYES and its model and process.

AYES manufacturing stakeholders and industry partners provided technical training in the four core areas of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) instruction. Additional industry update training was provided by AYES partners throughout the conference. Instructors were able to earn up to 16 hours of technical training credit toward their 20-hour National Automotive Technical Education Foundation (NATEF) and 40-hour AYES annual training requirements. Attendees also earned professional development credit through key sessions on the AYES model and classroom improvement strategies.

Additionally, AYES administrators participated in two days of training on the AYES model and reporting systems, as well as sessions on Perkins funding, trends in career and technical education and employment practices in our industry.

The 2008 AYES Instructor of the Year, sponsored by SPX Service Solutions, was also announced during this years’ training conference. Michael O’Hara, the 8th recipient of this award, is an instructor from H.B. Ward Technical Center in Riverhead, N.Y. In recognition of his commitment and dedication, he was given the choice of four vacation options, each valued at more than $6,000.

O’Hara has been an instructor with the school since it became affiliated with AYES in 1998. During his tenure, he has placed 64 students into mentored internships. This averages out to six internships per year. Mike has been able to maintain this average with only 15 new car franchises in his area of responsibility, which equates to approximately 40 percent annual engagement.

For more information, visit: http://www.ayes.org.