Fleet Maintenance - 36

TRAINING
»Those holding ASE Entry-Level Certification
represent a pool of job candidates
with demonstrable qualifications.
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Ü Hiring managers, who can use ASE EntryLevel Certification as a meaningful tool to
evaluate potential service employees.
ASE Entry-Level Certification can be thought
of as the first step in what should be a careerlong process of credentialing and professionalism: ASE Entry-Level Certification, ASE
Professional Technician Certification, ASE
Master Medium/Heavy Truck Technician
status, and ASE Advanced-Level Specialist.

A deeper look

ASE Entry-Level
Certification
The first professional credential
for new repair technicians.

Employers in every field face a perennial
challenge: evaluating and selecting new
employees. This is especially true for fleet
service departments where the trucks being
repaired and serviced are expensive and
downtime and comebacks impact operations,
safety, and profitability. Unfortunately, hiring
managers often find that there is not a shortage of applicants, but rather a shortage of
qualified applicants.
Many fleets use the National Institute for
Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications for hiring, promotion, and recognition
of their experienced technicians. It only makes
sense to look for similar credentials to qualify
entry-level applicants.

George Arrants

TRAINING CONSULTANT,
K&D TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
As an automotive education consultant specializing in ASE
Program Accreditation, Arrants works with instructors
and administrators to develop partnerships with local
business and industry through program advisory committees. He is past chair of the Technology and Maintenance
Council's TMCSuperTech the National Technician Skills
Competition and the TMCFutureTech the National Student
Technician Competition. His entire career has been in the
automotive service and education industries. He works
with the ASE Education Foundation as the Medium/Heavy
Truck Alliance manager.

36 Fleet Maintenance | August 2020

ASE is here to help with its Entry-Level
Certification program for students who are
near the end of their studies, in other words,
future technicians about to begin their careers.
By making solid entry-level hires, fleet managers can avoid churn and feel confident their
new technicians can grow with the company
into full-fledged service professionals.
There are 19 Entry-Level tests total in the
areas of Automobile Service, Collision Repair
& Refinishing, and Medium/Heavy Truck
Repair. ASE developed the tests in partnership with the ASE Education Foundation and
SkillsUSA. The tests in each series parallel
the instructional standards of ASE accredited training programs. The Entry-Level Truck
series consists of five tests in the following core
areas: Diesel Engines, Electrical/Electronic
Systems, Brakes, Suspension and Steering, and
Inspection, Maintenance, and Minor Repair.
Details can be found at ase.com/entry-level.
ASE's Entry-Level Certification offers an
independent assessment that is valuable for
all stakeholders:
Ü Instructors and administrators, who are
working to respond to today's increasing
demands for measurable outcomes and
accountability.
Ü Students, who gain a respected credential
and pride in accomplishment (along with
their parents, who can rest easier knowing
their children's program of studies is subject
to an independent evaluation through ASE
program accreditation and exit testing of
the students).

Those who know ASE through its professional
technician certification series know that ASE
does not dictate content areas and test questions.
Its certification tests are developed in response
to industry needs, with panels of industry
experts, including working technicians, service
managers, and trainers, developing the scope of
ASE tests and writing test questions.
ASE uses the same approach for its EntryLevel Certification program, but here the tests
are tied to the school's training program and
curriculum. More specifically, the tests are
built around the ASE Education Foundation's
Program Accreditation Task Lists (formerly
NATEF Program Evaluation).

"The tests
are designed
to maximize
accuracy and
meaningfulness."
George Arrants

The tests are designed to maximize accuracy
and meaningfulness. Test questions are developed in workshops and are validated through
pretesting. Non-scored questions are included
to measure potential test questions' performance before they become "live" questions.
Behind the scenes, the process even incudes
Item Response Theory statistical techniques in
test development - esoteric to all except testing
professionals, but an extra level of assurance
to students, instructors, and hiring managers
that the tests are doing their job.
Unlike Professional-Level ASE Certifications,
there are no work experience requirements for
ASE Entry-Level Certifications; the student
simply needs to pass one or more of the
entry-level tests.
All high school and college level medium/
heavy truck training programs nationwide
may use the ASE Entry-Level Certification
program, regardless of their accreditation
status or involvement with ASE, the ASE

http://www.ase.com/entry-level

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