In the face of a scarcity of qualified automotive technicians entering the workforce, the GM Automotive Service Educational Program (GM ASEP) is growing, with enrollment in the program now at a 10-year high. The GM ASEP provides a career pathway for students to receive training and real-world experience before landing full-time jobs at a GM dealership. The bump in program enrollment may be the result of the “Bring Us Your Talent” marketing campaign.
According to a recent report from Automotive News, which cites GM manager of technician environment and service technical training Eric Kenar, program enrollment for the 2023 calendar year tops 600 students. By comparison, enrollment has totaled between 365 and 450 students per year since 2012.
First launching in 1979, the GM ASEP has produced over 17,000 technicians to date. The program includes vehicles and technology donated by GM, and partners with community colleges across the nation to build a pipeline for fresh talent to enter the workforce. For now, the program emphasizes internal combustion vehicles, although according to Kenar, it includes some electric vehicle awareness and safety training as well.
The program takes two years to complete and is run in eight-week segments, and includes a paid role working at a dealership. The placement rate for students landing full-time jobs with the dealership sponsor is in the high 90-percent range.
GM launched the “Bring Us Your Talent” marketing campaign in 2021 to attract new students to the program, highlighting the need for skilled auto technicians, as well as the high-tech nature of modern auto service. The campaign also highlighted the financial benefits of a career in automotive service, including the potential to incur relatively low student debt and to make upwards of $100,000 annually.
Per the Automotive News report, Jonathan Cote, lead technician at Ed Rinke Chevrolet–Buick–GMC in Detroit, said that a career as an auto technician was both mentally intensive and labor-intensive. Cote began working at the dealership ten years ago as a GM ASEP student.
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Comments
This is great news.
Unfortunately, we live in a time where many people are refusing to work and would rather sit on the couch all day, wolfing down bags of Cheetos. I suppose when the government is paying these folks to partake in such laziness, it is just too tempting for some.
I’m glad there are still people out there willing to work hard, take pride in their work and learn a new trade. Good job!
Oh hey I did this program. At the time I actually went to the best one in the country(they do an annual student competition to find out) what they don’t tell you is if the instructors priority isn’t training the students, it’s helping the dealerships and gm. I got fired from the dealership for being in the military(I know I tried to fight it but I was 22 at the time and didn’t know how to properly do that) ASEP agreed that I shouldn’t be in program because it wasn’t for me(I was set to deploy and they were trying to get rid of me because of deployment) so I went and got my mechanical engineer degree and now I own a shop. I’m very in demand make more money than working at dealer on my own time. I’m called when other shop have a problem and can’t solve something. Sooo gm lost a good tech. Industry is losing talent because of pay. Literally nothing more. Service department is the cash cow at dealers and the rate is what $180 but the highest paid tech is maybe making 40 an hour. Overhead doesn’t cost 140 out of the remaining hour rate. Management is the problem. Bonuses for bs and the tech gets a pat on the back. If you’re lucky maybe a lunch. We don’t want to scrape by while making management all the money just for them to bring their boat in to fix and want us to do it for free. Haven’t seen a dealership that doesn’t have these issues.
I have been associated with GM ASEP training for over 20 years in Canada. The program in Canada (combined with Red Seal apprenticeship) and USA (combined with an Associates degree and completion of some ASE tests), provide an excellent start for technicians.
As member of the International Association of GM Automotive Service Educational Program (IAGMASEP), I continue to be actively involved with the Curriculum Committee for GM ASEP in USA, whereby the curriculum evolves constantly to best meet the needs of dealership technicians.
More so than ever before, GM’s commitment in resources and vehicles to support GM ASEP, is far beyond what is possible virtually elsewhere in North America.
Those who are willing to actively participate in the program as empowered learners and have the ability to work on current model vehicle technologies, frequently outshine others in their performance in the work place.
Instructors at the GM Service Technical College in USA and Product Service Training in Canada, often experience the difference in abilities and confidence displayed by GM ASEP graduates. Some with lesser abilities and interests may fall by the wayside, but those who excel can be very successful in achieving their goals in life and the workplace.
This is fact, not fiction or hearsay from a Red Seal technician turned instructor, now with 55 years experience. Since 1980, 43 years of my time has been spent in the role of service technician in one excellent GM dealership service bays for 23 years and trainer for the past 20 plus years.
My current role in Product Service Training and as a GM ASEP administrator, is technician development, to prepare and allow them to be successful. The people involved at GM and the college instructors within ASEP, all take their/our roles very seriously and large sums of money continue to be invested for the benefit of the students.
This web site provides some excellent daily news on GM products. Unfortunately, it is also frequented by too many “trolls” and those who prefer to snipe and use “Negative Nellie” comments. Those few contributors with positive outlooks are often called out by the negative types, who are all too frequently completely uninformed.
BTW, I live in the real world, don’t drink the Kool-Aid® when it tastes bitter and form my opinions based on facts.
Can there be challenges working in a dealership or for that matter, any workplace? Absolutely. However, perhaps turning that finger around and pointing it in the other direction might identify the source of many problems.
I truly enjoyed 23 years working in a GM dealership far more than the prior 12 years in the independent sector and at a Mazda dealership. Some may have completely opposing views of their experiences and I am okay with that too. I had more exposure to on the job training and still love going to work every day to make a difference at 71.
If a person does not enjoy working, or is so negatively affected as to need to make pathetic unsubstantiated comments, it is clearly time to make some personal changes. Life is far more enjoyable when viewed with a positive outlook than the alternative.
MS
It is sad when you buy a new car a Corvette in my case and are afraid to take it to the dealership.
Back in the late ’50’s I attended, several times, GM Training in Omaha, NE. I received training certificates for electrical, fuel, transmissions, etc. The training for each was never longer than a week. At the time, I was the only tech that went for training. I hung my certificates on my tool box for all to see and it seemed that I had more work than the other techs. In 1961 I left Nebraska and went to college in California.
This article is a forest. Being a world class ASE tech i can personally talk about this and the 100K per year is so far track it is not funny for the average tech. Oh yes, maybe in NYC or San Francisco but not ‘normal’ America. The dealership are all about sales and the dealership treat the tech’s like third world workers. It’s the tech that is the backbone of the dealership. Ever see a dealership without a service department? Young men, don’t fall for this smoke and mirror’s game.
I’m pretty sure marketing isn’t the reason for high enrollment. If I had to guess it’s that everyone has figured out college is a scam and honest kids are looking for a real livelihood. Many trade schools are up in enrollment nation wide and most colleges and universities are going to the government begging for handouts because they’ve lost 5-10% enrollment and don’t want to cut a penny. Fil-thy bagtards.
Seems like Public Schools have all dropped auto/wood/metal Shops so teens aren’t exposed to anything mechanical. They never know if they like working with their hands or have a talent. If they aren’t exposed to mechanics at home they haven’t a clue. Hard to learn on your own.