Leesburg, Va.--The National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), which will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year, is well known for its broad offering of certification tests for the automotive parts and service industry. However, many do not recognize how the organization has expanded to include certification of professional and vocational education programs and its other work to help improve the image of the industry and meet its changing needs.
Whether by creating online quizzes that can help technicians understand if they are ready to sit down for the formal ASE exam or by developing an English/Spanish glossary of common automotive terms to help the industry communicate better with a growing portion of its workforce and customer base, ASE continues to create new offerings to assist the industry, said Tony Molla, ASE vice president of communications.
The official anniversary celebration will be June 11-17, designated Automotive Service Professionals Week, Molla said, but will include special events and offerings throughout the year.
Molla said that as part of the celebration, ASE will be giving away tickets to ASE-certified technicians to attend a number of events at which ASE has public awareness programs, including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the Aero Shell Aerobatic Team, and professional bull-riding events. In addition, he said, a Yerf-Dog Go Kart will be given away as well as a GPS navigation system; details on entry will be announced in March.
Among the new offerings that ASE has launched over the past year are a series of online tutorials, Molla said. They are free on the ASE Web site (www.ase.com) and include a general tutorial on ASE testing, the value of certification for technicians, the value of certification for shops, and why motorists should seek out ASE-certified technicians.
Molla said ASE has also developed its TechQuiz series, also available on the Web site. "We had a lot of requests from the field for a test to suggest whether or not someone is ready to take the traditional ASE test," he said.
The tests cover three areas, Molla said, general automotive knowledge, automotive theory, and diagnostic questions. The diagnostic questions are written in the same manner as the questions on an ASE certification exam, he said. Known as distractors, the questioning style used by ASE requires the technician to choose from four plausible answers, he said.
"Doing well on a TechQuiz is no guarantee that you will do well on an ASE test," Molla said, "but if you're definitely not ready, it should tell that and tell you where you are on your technical knowledge."
There are currently tests for gasoline engines, drivetrain, electrical and A/C, and undercar, with more planned as resources become available, Molla said. "The cost is $12.50 each, which is a lot less expensive than taking an ASE test," he said. "We are a nonprofit, so we have the charge to cover our costs."
In addition to the overall score, Molla said that people taking the TechQuiz will also get a report on which areas they scored well in and which areas they need to work on.
While the tests are not intended to use for employment screening, Molla said he has been told by some shop owners that they are having prospects take the test as they watch and then using it to discuss why they have made some of the choices in order to create a more thorough interview.
In January 2006, ASE also introduced an English/Spanish glossary of automotive technical terms, Molla said, which by midsummer had become the most downloaded document on ASE's Web site.
Molla said ASE has always had a reader/translator option, which allows technicians to bring along someone to translate during a test, with the only requirement being that they not be another technician. For a number of years, ASE has also offered its most popular tests in Spanish, he said.
"The fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. is Hispanic," Molla said, adding that a Department of Labor study showed the need for a glossary of automotive technical terms, so ASE was approached about creating one.
"It is an aid to help Spanish speakers transition into an industry that is mostly English-speaking," Molla said. "The majority of the technical information is available only in English."
Molla said the glossary is being downloaded by manufacturers that supply their products with bilingual information, by other industry groups that are providing bilingual information, by parts providers who work with Spanish-speaking technicians, and by service writers who are working with Spanish-speaking customers, among others. "It gives the industry a common frame of reference," he said.
The core function of ASE continues to be the certification of automotive and truck parts and service professionals, Molla said, as it has been since the group was founded in 1972 as an alternative to government licensing of automotive technicians. There are currently 46 ASE certification tests and more than 400,000 ASE-certified professionals -- about half of the industry working on cars and trucks--with almost 98,000 being ASE-certified Master Technicians, he said.
ASE tests between 200,000 and 225,000 people a year, Molla said. In recent years, technicians have been offered a choice between the traditional paper and pencil tests, which cost $32 for registration and then $27 per test, or computer-based tests, which cost $70 for registration and $37 per test. The advanced L1 and L2 tests carry slightly higher cost of $54 each (pen and paper) or $74 (computer).
While the cost of the tests has risen over the years, Molla said that ASE testing remains the least expensive professional certification "on the planet." "It is also the second-largest fraternity of certified individuals on the planet, behind only Microsoft certifications, which passed us only a few years back."
For those shops that have at least 75 percent of their employees ASE-certified and at least one technician certified in each area in which the shop provides service, there is also the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence recognition program. For a $275 registration fee, shops receive a plaque noting the achievement, a counter mat, brochures, and other materials highlighting the achievement, Molla said. The ASE Web site also has a shop finder that is limited to Blue Seal shops, he said.
In addition to certifying individual technicians, ASE has also expanded its offerings to certify schools under the auspices of the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) and professional training classes through Continuing Automotive Service Education (CASE).
More than 2,000 schools around the United States are now ASE-certified through NATEF, Molla said. ASE hosts workshops that develop the standards by which curricula are developed. Schools that apply for certification are visited by a NATEF certification team that reviews the program's structure and determines if its curriculum meets those standards, he said. "In many states it's required that programs achieve NATEF certification in order to maintain funding," he said.
Molla said CASE providers go through much the same process of certifying that their curricula meet minimum industry standards. The CASE program addresses the training provider's process of developing and delivering training, as opposed to prescribing specific program content, he said.
The certifications, whether for individual technicians, schools, or professional training programs, are all about accountability and credibility, Molla said. "It's not just about getting a law degree," he said. "You also have to pass the bar examination."
As ASE moves towards its 35th anniversary, Molla said that some of the group's past successes sometimes work against it.
"In many ways, ASE is a victim of our own success," Molla said. "We are so well known that people take us for granted."
Many who think they know ASE do not realize all it has to offer, Molla said, adding that he thinks not enough is made of the many positive correlations that go along with ASE certification. He said studies have shown that ASE-certified technicians earn more money, have higher first-time fix ratios, and better job longevity.
The industry's reluctance to embrace just how significant the accomplishment of being certified is demonstrates a kind of inferiority complex, Molla said. "Until we start treating ourselves like professionals, I don't think it's realistic to expect the motoring public to view us any differently than they do."
One of the common complaints about ASE is that it is not recognized by customers, Molla said. In fact, he said many customers recognize the logo but are not sure what it means. The best opportunity to explain this is when customers bring their cars into a shop, he said.
"We have research that shows that when you explain what it stands for, people respond very positively," he said. "Well over 94 percent of people, when you explain what it means and ask them, 'Is this the kind of person you want to work on your car?' say, 'Of course it is.'
"The only time customers really care about our industry is when they are standing at the service counter," he said. "This is our best opportunity to explain this to them."
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