Ford Launches Technician Training Programs, Adds BEV Courses – Maintenance

Ford is expanding the curriculum and incorporating areas to its schooling program built to add far more specifically trained automotive technicians to a fast-escalating area that now consists of electric powered cars, the OEM announced on June 6.

The initiative, identified as Automotive College student Support Educational Schooling (ASSET), is a collaboration among Ford Motor Enterprise, Ford, and Lincoln dealers and choose community faculties and technological universities. The method offers Ford and Lincoln dealerships and their shoppers with experts very trained in Ford services systems and diagnostic & mend strategies, the announcement stated.

Three new ASSET programs are setting up this calendar year at the adhering to neighborhood colleges:

• Pima Neighborhood College, Tucson, Arizona
• Wake Technological Higher education, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Gwinnett Technological Higher education, Lawrenceville, Ga

Also, ASSET will be incorporating Ford EV curriculum together with classes on Significant Voltage Methods Security, Hybrid Vehicle Components and Operation, Battery Electric Auto (BEV) Parts and Procedure, and an introduction to Substantial Voltage Battery Company, as very well as a Ford instructor-led course on Hybrid and Electric powered Vehicle Procedure and Analysis.

Ford has delivered 25 PHEV or BEV motor vehicles to ASSET places, so students acquire fingers-on education, in accordance to the news launch.

“The ASSET plan places these young ones in in the classroom and then in the stall applying it. To me, acquiring individuals two at the same time is likely to give a dealer much better technician retention and the college student a much better knowing of the data,” claims Josh Fichter, standard supervisor, Five Star Ford in North Richland Hills, Texas. “It also breeds loyalty since if you’re not proactively escalating your very own technicians correct now, you’re likely to be in a world of harm.”

Ford is also introducing a Cell Assistance Technician Certification to the ASSET curriculum. This system is a pathway for learners that may possibly be sponsored at 1 of the 300+ sellers in the U.S. at this time operating Cell Service Fleets. The Cellular Services Technician Certification pathway improves college students Maintenance and Light Restore aptitudes early in the software timeline, on their way to turning into much more snug with greater repairs, doing work to grow to be an A-level technician and ASSET graduate, Ford stated.

“My encounter with ASSET been terrific,” states Josh Lilley, an ASSET pupil at Five Star Ford in Dallas, Texas. “As much back again as I can don’t forget, I’ve been tinkering on my dad’s initial-era Bronco. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone pursuing an automotive occupation at the dealership. It is these types of a good software, specifically if you don’t know anything at all, they’ll sit you down and help you grow people abilities. I discovered a lot much more than I ever considered I would require or know.”

In excess of a two-calendar year period, an ASSET college student can gain up to 100% of Ford’s Services Technician Specialty Instruction (STST) qualifications, gain an associate degree in Automotive Engineering, and have a single-yr of get the job done encounter at a Ford or Lincoln dealership. ASSET graduates also can attain Ford’s High Voltage Systems Certification, in addition to the 12 certifications the method already presents.

Given that 1985, additional than 12,000 pupils have graduated from the ASSET system with 1,800 Ford and Lincoln sellers taking part as sponsors. The ASSET method is a single of three publish-secondary Ford-sponsored automotive instruction plans via New Ford Tech, an initiative within the firm aimed at supporting and increasing a solid pool of qualified automotive fix experts to support meet up with rising demand from customers.