March 6, 2015 - High School Teams Participate in Automotive Challenge at UTI
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The winning team along with their instructors from Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center in Lubbock, Texas, accepts their first-place award at the Top Tech Challenge held at UTI-Dallas/Fort Worth. |
Teams from high schools in Texas and Arkansas came to Universal Technical Institute’s Dallas/Fort Worth campus on January 24 to show off their automotive skills and compete for prizes.
Thirty-seven teams participated in UTI’s second annual Top Tech Challenge, more than double the number of 2014 competitors.
The teams of two competed in five different areas: parts identification, brake problems, climate control, electrical problems and a written, Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) test with a panel of UTI-Dallas/Fort Worth instructors judging their work.
The winning team came from Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center in Lubbock, Texas, and received a UTI wrapped Champion Snap-on tool box for their school, as well as a $2000 Snap-on tool voucher. Team members, Kenny Lam and Bailey Wilson, also received a $1000 scholarship to UTI.
“The purpose of this competition is to build awareness for the important role auto technicians play in today’s workforce, spotlight their specialized skills and the high-tech nature of this business,” said Jesus Miranda, campus president of UTI-Dallas/Fort Worth. “At the same time, we’re giving students a chance to compete in a real-world setting and do things professional technicians do every day.”
Today’s transportation service technicians are experts in the complex and innovative digital systems that keep modern vehicles running, and technicians with high-tech, hands-on training are in demand. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the industry will have an average of more than 37,000 job openings for skilled technicians every year.
“With so much talk surrounding STEM education and its role in closing the skills gap, UTI’s role in connecting jobs to education is more critical than ever before and the Top Tech Challenge is aimed at doing just that,” Miranda said.
