How ASE Certifications Empower Technicians – Operations

In a current episode of The Fleet Code podcast, host and Fleetio’s personal Director of Fleet Content material, Zach Searcy, had a dialog with Dave Johnson, president and CEO of the Nationwide Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), to debate the transformative impression of ASE certifications on technicians and fleet operations.

Johnson’s roots in fleet hint again to his childhood in Burlington, Wyoming, the place he grew up on a household farm with a small trucking operation. This hands-on expertise fueled his ardour for diesel mechanics, main him to review automotive engineering know-how at Weber State College.

Although he initially deliberate to work in mining, he landed at Ford in 1990, the place he rose to move of Technical Assist Operations World, overseeing every thing from technician coaching to guarantee administration. After retiring from Ford in 2022, Johnson was drawn to ASE’s mission of credentialing service professionals.

“I noticed that [ASE was] this improbable factor. I name it a righteous trigger. And the rationale I say that’s ASE was fashioned in essence to supply credentialing for service technicians, whether or not it’s automotive, heavy truck, army, you identify it,” Johnson mentioned, noting ASE’s industry-driven method to creating requirements that profit technicians, fleets, and the broader {industry}.

The Worth of ASE Certification

For technicians, ASE certification is greater than a badge — it’s a path to profession development. Johnson highlights that certification requires not solely passing rigorous exams but in addition two years of verifiable store expertise, guaranteeing that licensed technicians are each educated and work-ready.

“That is the actual deal. This isn’t three guys off in a nook making up foolish questions so that you can reply in multiple-choice format,” Johnson mentioned. “No, these are those that take it very severely [and have] workshops a number of occasions a yr the place they proceed to create and refine all of these items and be sure that they’re actual and that they replicate the competencies that you want to have.”

Johnson mentioned {that a} 2024 ASE survey of greater than 30,000 technicians revealed a compelling incentive: licensed technicians earn roughly 20% greater than their non-certified counterparts throughout early, mid, and late profession levels.

Nevertheless, monetary rewards aren’t the one profit ASE certifications present. Certification can instill pleasure and confidence in technicians, signaling to employers that they’re dedicated to excellence. For technicians hesitant about testing, ASE is working to cut back boundaries, providing distant proctoring to make the method extra accessible.

Fleets can even reap advantages from using ASE-certified technicians.

Whereas licensed technicians are getting extra pay, Johnson notes that together with that comes a “40% productiveness [increase and] 60% fewer comebacks. So take into consideration that when it comes to fixing it proper the primary time and the standard of the restore. Doing it quicker [with] higher high quality end result. So all people’s glad, proper? After which one other bonus on prime of that [was] a 30% [decrease in] attrition of staff that had been licensed versus non-certified.”

For fleets, these metrics translate to decreased downtime, higher-quality repairs, and a extra steady workforce.

Constructing a Pipeline for the Future

The technician scarcity has been a well-liked subject of late, and for good purpose. Johnson emphasised the position of the ASE Training Basis in accrediting coaching packages to make sure they meet {industry} requirements and align curricula with {industry} wants, producing job-ready graduates excited to enter the workforce.

Johnson urged fleet managers to interact with native faculties, serving on advisory boards or providing store excursions to encourage and practice the following era.

“When you could have that mixture of a program that cares, that has that accreditation — [and] you convey within the native {industry}, who cares — what you discover is you’re now not worrying a couple of technician scarcity challenge in your space. You have got created a pipeline, and also you continue to grow your personal, and that simply continues.”

Certifications can current a monetary barrier, particularly for brand new technicians nonetheless making an attempt to drum up the funds for instruments. The podcast episode lined Fleetio’s newly introduced ASE scholarship, which permits fleets to appoint technicians for as much as $3,000 of sponsored coaching, upskilling, and/or re-skilling. Johnson praised the initiative, noting that overlaying check prices can lead technicians to success.

“They’ve that chance for the certification. They’re on this path. And even when they don’t have the expertise but — perhaps they haven’t had the 2 years of expertise — they nonetheless have the proof that they handed the check,” Johnson mentioned. “And that opens doorways.”

ASE certifications empower technicians with expertise, confidence, and incomes potential whereas delivering fleets measurable returns in productiveness, high quality work, and retention. Fleets can put money into certifications, interact with native coaching packages, and make the most of initiatives like Fleetio’s ASE scholarship program to assist rework their retailers into facilities of excellence.

As Johnson put it, it’s “win, win, wins for everyone.” For fleets seeking to elevate their operations and contribute to a safer, extra environment friendly {industry}, ASE affords a confirmed path ahead.

In regards to the Creator: Rachael Plant is a senior content material advertising and marketing specialist for Fleetio, a fleet optimization platform that helps organizations run, restore, and optimize their fleet operations.

This text was authored and edited in response to Automotive Fleet’s editorial requirements and magnificence. Opinions expressed could not replicate that of Automotive Fleet.