
From Faye:
Join me FRIDAY, 1/24 at 8pm Eastern Time on my YouTube channel, youtube.com/FayeHadley for a Livestream with Dave Macholz, President and CEO of AVTECC - Advanced Vehicle Technology Education and Credentialing Coalition (www.avtecc.org), a not-for-profit organization that offers skills-based automotive testing and certifications for advanced level systems. I am really excited about this for so many reasons. Advancements in the industry are coming at us so fast: self-driving technology, ADAS systems, EV technology, and other high-tech additions to our vehicles... and who are the people working on these? There isn't an industry standard to ensure that the right people - those who are properly trained and fluent in these systems - are working on these cars. I often worry that there will be a catastrophic or news-worthy incident of something going terribly wrong with a vehicle service, and the government will come in and mandate certification of their own - and the government isn't working in the industry, and doesn't understand what actually has to go into repairing these vehicles. So I am a HUGE fan of these grass-roots, volunteer-based solutions coming from inside the industry itself. I feel like it places the power back into the hands of the people. You undoubtedly have also heard me talk about other voluntary automotive certification tests, and although I strongly support testing and certifying your knowledge in every sense that you can - especially as a new technician trying to get your foot in the door - there is only so much you can prove with a written test, right? It basically proves that you can pass a test, and many trades people are hands-on learners to start with. Many of us who are fluent in the job struggle to sit down at a computer and pass an online exam. The industry has been craving a hands-on high level certification model for SO LONG and I am so excited to see this take off!
If you have any specific questions for Dave, email: info@avtecc.org and we will try to get them answered for you, and please join us for the Livestream on Friday at 8pm Eastern Time!
Hope to see you there!