With dealerships nationwide clamoring for more qualified technicians, a pair of high school students from Pennsylvania likely will be high in demand after finishing in first place at the 2015 National Automotive Technology Competition.

The first team from the Keystone State to win the competition included Tony Litz and Nick Schroeder, students at Wallenpaupack Area High School in Hawley, Pa. The students were sponsored by the Pennsylvania Automotive Association. 

The competition known as one of the industry’s largest school-to-work initiatives, pits the nation's best high school automotive vocational education students against one another for the title of “America's Top Technicians.”  The national competition has 10 workstations, including:

— Job interview
— Controller area network
— STEM
— Brakes
— Wheel alignment and balance
— Wiring repair
— Information retrieval
— Hybrid vehicle repair
— Mechanical
— SP/2 shop safety

The national finals, held in New York in conjunction with the New York International Automobile Show, culminated with students diagnosing and fixing a “bugged” vehicle.

“Computer systems dominate today’s new cars and trucks so the students who make it to the finals of this competition have shown that they have an extraordinary ability to combine highly technical knowhow with problem solving abilities,” said Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.

“We need these highly motivated and talented young people in dealerships across the country to make sure vehicle owners have access to technicians with the best computer and technical skills,” Schienberg continued.

"High quality vocational training is a critical part of our nation's education needs and this competition is designed to encourage more rigorous standards for vocational education to ensure students master the skills they need to succeed as lifelong learners, workers and citizens,” Schienberg went on to say.

Since 1993, the National Automotive Technology Competition has brought the nation’s best high school automotive technicians to test their skills, measure their knowledge, and challenge their ability to diagnose and repair vehicles.

Schienberg highlighted the program is possible thanks to the generous contributions of more than 125 industry sponsors including automakers, industry organizations, OEM suppliers, educational institutions and dealer associations from across the country. 

This year, prizes and scholarships totaling more than $3 million were awarded to the participants.  Snap-on, the Competition's Official Tool Supplier, provided tool sets to all competitors.

The rules of the contest are simple. Each team of students is assigned a vehicle that is rigged to malfunction in a number of ways. Using a repair order with actual customer complaints, the student teams must diagnose and repair the problem within the allotted time, using the manufacturer's specialty tools.  Each "bug" correctly diagnosed and repaired is worth a number of points, depending on the level of difficulty.

In addition, the students' knowledge of emissions control systems, alignment, electrical test equipment, airbag components, oscilloscope usage and mechanical measurement equipment is tested during a series of intensive work station sessions.  To prepare for the competition, students are trained at local franchised dealerships and the skills they learn from master technicians prepare them to succeed in the working world.

The first-place prizes Litz and Schroeder claimed for themselves and their school included:

— Custom Snap-on air tool plaque

— Snap-on top tool chest

— Snap-on bottom roll cabinet

— Snap-on cordless screw gun kit

— General Motors, $10,000 worth of Snap-on tools

— Automotive Training Center, a full tuition scholarship

— Lincoln Technical Institute, a full tuition scholarship

— Universal Technical Institute, a Full ASE Master Certified Automotive Program tuition scholarship

— Ohio Technical College, a $20,000 scholarship

— New England Institute of Technology a $2,000 scholarship

— The University of Northwestern Ohio, a full tuition scholarship

— Toyota, a donation vehicle for the school

— Hunter Engineering, Hunter Smart Weight Wheel Balancer for the school

— Megatech Corporation, the NEWEST Electricity, Magnetism, and Materials Solution Trainer for the school

— Motor Age Training, the Complete Car & Light Truck Automotive Set Digital Edition (A1-A9) for the school

— Electude International, a school license for 50 students to have access to their online training programs

— ConsuLab Training Aids, the Automotive Training Package for the school

— Miller Welders, a Millermatic 180 Auto-Set MIG Welder for the school