This is a brief article explaining what to expect and how to prepare for a Certification Assessment. The first thing to do is RELAX!!!!!
     

You have made quite a commitment to your personal training standards and can take great pride in the fact that you have come so far as to be ready to participate in an Assessment.

If you are unfamiliar with the process, click here to learn more about the entire Training System Overview.                  

A room prepped for a Certification at Tarrytown

                                                
Before The Assessment                                                                                   

Once you have been scheduled to take a Certification Assessment there are a few things you can do before hand to better prepare yourself for the test. First, if you are traveling from a great distance, it is a good idea to arrive the day before the Assessment. If you are coming to the Training Center in Tarrytown, New York click here to see our directions page. By coming in the day before, you can be rested rather than coming in on the same day and being stressed out by your trip. 

Another item to consider is reviewing some of the prerequisites for the Assessment you are taking. If you have not been to the Hands-On course it is STRONGLY  recommended that you attend one. Even if you have already been given credit for the class by being "Grand fathered" in, sometimes it's a good idea to take one over again as a sort of refresher. If you took the CBT for a certain course that applies to the Assessment you are taking and you still have the floppy disk from your score uploads (or if you took it on the Web based version) revisit the class and hyper link through the course to refresh yourself.

IDLs can be taken again even if you just record it and watch it later to get reacquainted in the subject matter.

The Morning of The Assessment

When you arrive at the Training Center you will report to the room where the Assessment will take place. Inside a Facilitator will familiarize you with the Certification process. The Certification will have as many as  7 technicians to make sure there are not too many people in the room. The Facilitator will not be able to assist you but is there strictly to observe and grade the all of the technicians' performance. The day will be busy containing 7 Certification Exercises. The starting time is 8:00 am sharp. Most times the Certification will end about 1:30 or 2:00 PM.

Let the Games Begin!

So here we go! You will now begin the actual Certification Assessment process. If you have been in a Hands-On course you may already be familiar with the procedure of getting a "mock" repair order and going to work on a vehicle with a fault purposely installed. During the diagnostic routine you are asked to document yourself while you work to show how you arrived at the conclusion of what was the cause of the fault. The process will be pretty much the same with a few exceptions. First of all the exercises are not  so involved that you will have to contact Technical Assistance to get help. Whatever is thrown at you will be something you should be able to figure out with eSI. Any tools necessary to do the exercises will also be available. You are not permitted to bring your own tools. Also the time you spend will be closely watched. When you are first given a work order you will have 40 minutes to perform the exercise and then document your work. The technician will utilize the knowledge and skills acquired from training and experience in the Certification area to troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve fault conditions. During this time the technician will also demonstrate proper techniques for using tools, safety procedures and resource materials. The technicians will use the Certification Exercise Summary Forms to document their diagnostic process, potential problems and possible faults. Not all the exercises will be on a vehicle, some may be on a workbench, a SET board or a desk exercise where the technician will be given a scenario of a vehicle with a problem (even though the actual vehicle is not there) and asked to research for potential problems and solutions. Another possibility, depending on the Certification, will be the use of a Simulator or "SIM". It is a good idea to have taken an few SIMs on line or at a Hands On Class, prior to coming for a Certification. For more on SIMs click here

There are a total of 7 exercises altogether and each has a certain point value assigned to them. So not only is finding the fault important but the documentation of your process also counts heavily toward your score. Just like the proper documentation on a repair order back at the shop helps to ensure you are paid properly.
Test station with everything a tech would need to complete the required tasks.

The Facilitator

I have heard of a commentator, a baked potator but what the heck is a Facilitator? The facilitator will be running the show as it pertains to the Certification Assessment. Each Assessment Facilitator has received extensive training in the field of conducting performance based Assessments. This training included content on:

	The Assessment Process
	Scoring technicians only on observable behaviors
	Interviewing techniques
	A thorough review of ALL of the Assessment Exercises

  They observe the technicians while they work and they also review the paperwork that is filled out by the participants. Based on these criteria the facilitator can grade the work of those who attended and give them their grade. This is usually done in a 24 hour period of the Certification Assessment and the results are posted on the www.gmtraining .com website in 5 working days. Please do not call the Training Center to get your results!!

If you pass, congratulations, you will receive a certificate and a patch showing your accomplishment. If you don't, a path of remediation will be developed to indicate areas in which additional training may be needed. A score of 80% or better is considered passing. And do not forget that you will have to be ASE Certified in the catagory of your Assessment to get Master Technician Certification (MTC) Status.

World Class Status

Once a technician has taken and successfully passed 8 of 9 Mechanical ASE Categories (you can take either Gas Engine Performance or Diesel Engine Performance and the 7 other Mechanical categories) they achieve "World Class" status. You must also have ALL of the same category certification from ASE. As of the middle of 2005 there are approximately 495 techs that have hit this mark since the STC Program began in 2000. Quite an elite group!

Gaining the "WCT" level of accomplishment is a great testimonial to your commitment of training and professionalism. It shows that you were able to put in more than 450 hours of training an assessments to get here.
And here is what you get;

	A signed letter from the GM Director of Service Operations
	A signed and framed certificate from the Executive Director of GM Service Operations
	World Class Technician Statue
	$400 to use towards merchandise in the GM Superstore

In Conclusion...

That's the story on Certification Assessments. I know it will be somewhat overwhelming especially when you come in for your first one, but try to remain calm and keep in the back of your mind that it should be just another day at the office. We are also here to assist if you, if you have any questions about the process, please get in touch with us! We are here to help.

Mik Stubing Lead Instructor GMTCNY