Dedicated to Improving the Future of the Automotive Repair Industry!

To help understand more about MEA’s Top Tech College, here are some frequently asked questions…

• Why does the industry need a new approach to automotive training?
• Why are the current school systems failing?
• What will MEA’s Top Tech College offer?
• How will MEA provide the experience necessary to be successful in the industry?
• Will the student receive any additional training?
• What is meant by “mentored” work study?
• What separates MEA’s TOP-TECH College from all other automotive training colleges?

Why does the industry need a new approach to automotive training?

Entry level technicians that are coming into the industry from traditional training facilities are often lacking the basic skills needed for today’s automotive troubleshooting. Many employers do not have faith in the candidates they interview from traditional training facilities; often stating that they feel they are not being sent well prepared technicians. This problem is multiplied as the potential students, hearing the shop owner’s dissatisfaction with the current automotive training system, decide not to enter into the industry, causing even more of a technician shortage.

Why are the current school systems failing?

Often the training is generic and not targeted towards a repair facility's real needs. Most often their instructors no longer work in the field causing a rapid loss of expertise and being generally out of touch with the needs of the repair shop. Due to budgetary issues, the equipment and curriculum is often outdated or obsolete. Most importantly, training programs at these facilities are rarely linked to on the job experience. A good part of a persons success in this business comes from experience. Experience is the tool that couples academic studies with practical, real world application.

What will MEA’s Top Tech College offer?

MEA’s Top Tech College will be providing an intensive 10 month training program that will run from September to June. The program will target the needs of a technician who wants to become an Advanced Engine Performance and Electronics Specialist. Upon completion of the program, the student will have been exposed to approximately 20 years of foreign and domestic automotive knowledge as well as up to date alternative fuel systems knowledge. Training in alternative fuel vehicles are becoming more important as we watch the introduction of Honda’s new hybrid ( gas and electric ) production car for the year 2000.

How will MEA provide the experience necessary to be successful in the industry?

For a student to graduate, not only will they have to be successful in the classroom, but he or she will also have to fulfill the following additional mandatory requirements:

• Mandatory 16 hour “hands–on” work requirement at participating shops.
• Mandatory Tech Hotline experience (“behind the scenes” troubleshooting).
• Mandatory Tech-Truck experience (traveling out to shops with our instructor to some of the most complicated diagnostic problems).

On the job training will be audited by MEA instructors looking for on-time performance, attitude, hands-on ability, etc. MEA will provide not only the technical aspects of thee trade but also the professional standards. Also included in the program will be courses intended to train the technician in proper customer relations skills, repair order writing skills, workplace productivity, etc.

Will the student receive any additional training?

Yes. The Top–Tech College student will receive training in ABS brakes, Air Conditioning, Air Bag systems, Electronic Transmissions, Instrument Clusters, wheel Alignment, Electronic Suspension, and Body Control Modules just to name a few topics.

What is meant by “mentored” work study?

As a matter of practice, many of the top Fortune 500 companies have adopted Mentoring Programs to aid their employees in developing to their greatest potential. Our program provides each student with a mentor from the participating MEA repair shop who will work with the student to help them get the full benefit of the program. What’s important to the mentor is that the person being mentored is successful, and that they enjoy substantial personal and professional growth. MEA’s staff has been fully trained in the mentoring process. It will be our priority to match each student with a member of the participating shop’s staff that besides having the technical expertise will also have a positive attitude, patience and flexibility, as well as having an interest in being “part of the solution” in changing the service technician image.

What separates MEA’s TOP-TECH College from all other automotive training colleges?

• The only automotive college that offers the student the opportunity to Specialize in Advanced Engine Performance and Automotive Electronic Systems.
• The only automotive college that the students learning experience includes solving complex problems that are being experienced by REAL repair shops, every day. MEA receives 100-200 calls per day on their hotline from repair facilities and provides help for the most complex driveability and electrical problems.
• For vehicles that cannot be solved by telephone, MEA offers an on-site troubleshooting service that goes directly to the repair shop with the problem car. The TOP-TECH college student will also have the opportunity to ride with our instructors to help troubleshoot these problem cars. This process will also help the student learn customer relation and repair order writing skills.
• The only automotive college where EVERY instructor is a Master Automotive Technician as well as an Advanced Engine Performance and Electronics specialist. Most importantly each instructor is required to work daily in the repair field to insure they are current in the latest repair procedures. One of the ways that this is accomplished is by using a team of instructors who are specialists in their field. Each instructor teaches their specialty and then returns to the field to continue to diagnose and repair vehicles. This MEA exclusive approach to training guarantees that the instructor is able to insure the student is prepared for the “real world”. Unlike many other facilities whose instructors rely heavily on experiences learned prior to becoming an instructor, TOP-TECH College instructors are on the cutting edge of their trade.
• The only private automotive college to belong to a unique group of 20 automotive repair professionals from around the country, selected by ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) to develop and update their L1 Advanced Engine Performance Exam. MEA is proud to be recognized as the part of the “elite” in the automotive industry who are selected to help write and continually develop the ASE L1 exam. The L1 exam is the most prestigious certification in the automotive industry.
• MEA TOP-TECH College Staff is also involved in the automotive industry like no other organization. Here are a list of just some of our staff’s accomplishments:
  • EPA / CSCV Master Instructors
  • State of NJ Licensed Inspector and ETEP training facility
  • Executive Board: NJ Repair Excellence Council
  • Automotive consultant to the US EPA
  • Expert Witness US Senate Staff hearings on Automotive Issues
  • Consultant ASA (Automotive Service Association)
  • Consultant CARE (Coalition of Auto Repair Equality)
  • Consultant STS (Service Technician Society and SAE)
  • Test writing staff: Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)
  • Producer OBDII videos with Society of Automotive Engineers
  • EPA Certified training facility for Section 609 Air Conditioning Certification
  • ATMC (Automotive Training Managers Council) Training Innovation Award
  • Automotive Equipment Beta Test Facility (Hickok, Snap-On, Waekon, etc.)
  • Somerset County Vo-Tech Auto Mechanics Award
  • EPA / CSCV Master Instructors West Virginia University
  • AFTP Instructors ASE Master Automobile Technicians
  • ASE L1 Advanced Engine Performance Specialists
  • ASE F1 Vehicular Compressed Natural Gas Certifications
  • EPA R12 / CFC Refrigerant Certifications