ASA, ASE and NADA are hosting a national summit Oct. 1. The meeting will focus on issues related to Hispanic automotive technicians. ASA will provide details of the summit's activities in an online report at www.asashop.org.

The Automotive Service Association, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) are hosting a national summit on issues related to Hispanic automotive technicians. The Oct. 1, 2003, meeting will take place in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill.

Co-chairs of the summit are U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, and U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas, chairman of the Hispanic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Both Chambliss and Rodriguez recognize a changing automotive industry and its dependence on a large, well-trained work force. The high-profile summit is appropriately being held on Capitol Hill to signify the importance of this issue to automotive repair. The summit will include presentations by various political, industry and educational leaders familiar with the issues of a growing Hispanic technician work force.

Denise Caspersen, ASA's research management specialist, developed a briefing paper presenting training, retention and recruiting concerns for the automotive industry. Caspersen reported that 839,689 technicians are currently employed as automotive mechanical technicians. This technician pool is comprised as follows:

• 26.6 percent as automotive mechanical technicians
• 25.9 percent are employed by new car dealers
• 6.6 percent are employed by auto, home supply stores
• 4.4 percent by gasoline service stations
• 2.76 percent by automotive services other than repair
• 2.67 percent by local governments
• 1.8 percent by parts suppliers
• 1.46 percent are self-employed, secondary jobs
• 1.24 percent by department stores
• 1 percent by automotive rental companies
• .43 percent by public and private educational services

Employers with smaller percentages of technicians are found in industries such as the U.S. Postal Service, commercial sports, boat and miscellaneous vehicle dealers, electric services, taxicabs and telephone communications.

Automotive technicians are anticipated to grow in number by 18 percent or 151,050 over the next 10 years. Caspersen predicts gasoline service stations will "continue to see a decrease in the number of technician positions by 7,283 through 2010. Automotive repair shop positions are expected to increase from 26.6 percent to 29 percent by 2010 while dealership slots will drop from 25.9 percent to 24.7 percent. The dealership decrease is a result of improvements in vehicle quality and a decline in the amount of warranty repair required by consumers."

Are there positions available today? The National Automobile Dealers Association reports there are approximately 60,000 technician positions available, 32,000 annual job openings plus an additional 30,000 projected growth over a five-year period.

The U.S. Census illustrates an increasing diversity in the field of automotive repair:

• 15.2 percent Hispanic
• 7.5 percent Black
• 1.5 percent women

With an increasing Hispanic population and a projected increase in the percentage of Hispanic technicians, a focus on bilingual training is essential for the industry. ASE has developed a bilingual outreach program proposal that will be addressed in the upcoming Capitol Hill summit.

The goals of the Bilingual Outreach Program are:

• Increase the number of Spanish/English exams to linguistically isolated service technicians.
• Distribute information in Spanish about achieving ASE professional credentials.
• Educate Spanish-speaking consumers about the importance of vehicle maintenance, particularly as it relates to safety and environmental concerns.

Dr. Charles Kunce stated, "The translation of the ASE exams is intended to provide a direct benefit to the quality of the auto technician work force in the U.S.A. The bilingual exams allow the best Spanish-speaking technicians to prove their skills, thereby increasing their employability in the U.S. industry. This, in turn, directly benefits consumers, in the U.S.A., the auto repair industry, the Spanish-speaking community - and, of course, the technicians themselves."

The summit will allow the industry to discuss the primary issues of the growth of Hispanic technicians in the automotive marketplace. ASA is hopeful this broad industry meeting will produce options for improving the plight of repair shop owners, Hispanic technicians moving into the automotive field and the motoring public.

ASA will provide details of the summit's activities in an online report at www.asashop.org.

Bob Redding is the Automotive Service Association's Washington, D.C., representative. He is a member of several federal and state advisory committees involved in the automotive industry. For more information about the legislative activities of ASA, visit www.TakingTheHill.com.

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