MATC Matters

There is exciting news from the MATC Automotive Club.The club members participate in SkillsUSA, a national organization dedicated to technical training, and the automotive students from MATC swept first, second and third places at the organization’s state competition in April this year.

First-place winners at the state level continued onto the nationals held in Kansas City, Missouri, June 25 to 29. This year, MATC automotive student Kyle Reimann received first place at the national level, competing in the Automotive Service Technology Contest.

The contestants demonstrated their ability to perform jobs and skills based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). Workstations consisted of on‑vehicle, simulations, bench and component testing. Contestants were judged on technical competency, accuracy, quality, safety and ability to follow directions. There were 13 skill stations plus a written test.

The SkillsUSA Championships event provides a showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels. This is a multi‑million dollar event that occupies a space equivalent to 16 football fields. In 2007, there are over 5,000 contestants in 87 separate events. Nearly 1,500 judges and contest organizers from labor and management will make the national event possible.

The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs. For more info about SkillsUSA, see the SkillsUSA website