WARREN, Mich. – Bosch Field Training Specialists in 38 states nationwide tutored hundreds of future automotive technicians in advance of and at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition. More than 12,000 high school students entered the competition, with 10 two-person teams competing at the state level. Bosch Field Training Specialists served as mentors and judges at the state and national levels, helping groom future technicians.
The winning teams will compete on Tuesday, June 10, at the Ford Motor Co. World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. At stake is more than $10 million in scholarships to help students enhance their skills as future automotive technicians. The competition reinforces students’ desired field of study, showing them career opportunities within the automotive service field and shaping the next generation of automotive technicians.
“As vehicles become more complicated and require an advanced degree of servicing, the career opportunities as an automotive technician continue to expand,” said Mike Hosch, director of sales & diagnostics, Bosch Automotive Service Solutions. “Our Field Training Specialists rely on their decades of experience as technicians, mentoring and helping students develop the skill set needed to be successful to build a career working in dealerships and service shops nationwide.”
The Auto Skills competition pits student teams against one another, repairing intentionally “bugged” vehicles and completing a written test. Teams are evaluated on workmanship, automotive knowledge and problem-solving abilities in a timed race.
“This is something our specialists look forward to every year, a chance to share their passion for the automotive service industry with students looking to learn and grow under the tutelage of Bosch,” added Hosch.
Bosch Field Training Specialists will continue providing technical instruction to students at the national level. Students will use the OTC Genisys EVO, an advanced diagnostics tool manufactured by the Automotive Aftermarket Business Division of Bosch, at the national competition. OTC has been the “Scan Tool of Choice” for the Student Auto Skills competition for more than 23 years, providing technical assistance for students for more than two decades.
Bosch’s Automotive Aftermarket Business Division provided every student at the state level with an Actron U-Scan, 1,000 in all. The U-Scan plugs into a vehicle’s On Board Diagnostics (OBD II) port, providing vehicle diagnostics with an iOS or Android device. The U-Scan offers users access to a vehicle’s OBD II information via a Bluetooth connection, reading the codes behind worrisome dashboard lights and helping offer a fix.
All students competing at the national level will receive a Bosch 12V Max Lithium-Ion cordless combo drill/driver and impact driver kit, and Bosch will be giving away three 24-inch Ascenta-Stainless steel dishwashers to families of competing students. In addition, there will be one OTC Encore diagnostic tool given away at random to one high school in the competition, representing three of the four business sectors that comprise the Bosch Group: Automotive Technology, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology.
A full list of state competitions can be found here: http://bit.ly/FordAAASkillsChallenge, with the state competitions having wrapped up on May 15, leading up to the national competition on June 10 in Dearborn.
Bosch would like to congratulate the winners from all 50 states, listed here.
