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MTECH students who received their Master ASE certifications are pictured.

Courtesy MTECH

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MTECH students who received their Master ASE certifications are pictured.

Courtesy MTECH

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Within the auto mechanic world, earning an Automotive Service Excellence certification, or ASE, is a meaningful achievement that shows a mechanic’s expertise in a specific area.

Earning all of the ASE certifications shows you’re a master of your craft.

That’s exactly what 11 students at Mountainland Technical College’s automotive and diesel technology program recently accomplished, acquiring all eight ASE certifications to become ASE Master Technician candidates.

It’s the most MTECH has ever had. 

“This isn’t something that’s typical, where they receive ASE Master Certification while going to school,” MTECH automotive technology program coordinator Matt Zufelt said. “It takes guys their whole career to pass all of these, usually, and some technicians will work their whole career and not obtain all of those certifications.”

As a reward for their efforts, these students each received a scholarship to purchase tools for launching their professional careers. Contributing to the scholarships were MTECH’s automotive partners in Utah and Wasatch counties: Daktik, Doug Smith, Sav-Mor Auto Clinic, Tunex, Labrum Ford Chevrolet, Karl Malone Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Heavy Equipment Solutions, Goodfellow, Suncore and Payson Napa Auto Supply.

More importantly, the achievement opens several opportunities for the students as they complete their two-year program and step into the labor market. The achievement is particularly valuable because if a car is under warranty, many manufacturers will not deal with an auto shop that does not have an ASE Master Technician, according to Zufelt. He said each of the 11 students completed the MTECH program with a job in tow. 

“It’s a nationwide thing that everyone has heard of ASE, whereas maybe in New York State they’ve never heard of Mountainland Technical College from little old Utah,” Zufelt said. “But if they go into industry with all of these nationwide certifications, that makes them pretty attractive to the job market.” 

Getting a master ASE requires showing mastery in the following tests: A1 — Engine Repair; A2 –Automatic Transmission/Transaxle; A3 — Manual Drive Train and Axles; A4 — Suspension and Steering; A5 — Brakes; A6 — Electrical/Electrical Systems; A7 — Heating and Air Conditioning; and A8 — Engine Performance.

To gain mastery in all eight in the span of a two-year program is credited in part to the way MTECH’s curriculum is designed, according to Zufelt. He said each course is set up using the ASE Education Foundation task list, and all the fundamental skills are taught in a “crawl, walk, run” type of methodology. 

“We will teach everything that they need to know to pass these exams, and then we actually offer the exam as the final for each course,” Zufelt said. “We don’t require that a student passes the ASE to receive credit for the course, but it definitely shows mastery of that course.” 

The goal is a 50% pass rate of certification exams for each course, though tougher courses have a lower mastery rate. Zufelt said that each test is very challenging, measuring not just your competency, but your mastery. He said the questions, taken on a computer, are designed to trick their takers. 

“They’re trying to simulate a technician actually out in the shop working on a car … They’re critical thinking questions that are pretty challenging,” he said. 

Anyone receiving mastery rate in all eight courses is going above and beyond. The following students received ASE Master Certifications: Lake Dinga, Owen Winward, Brighton Kindell, Ethan Larson, Mason Blackham, Easton Spencer, Andrew Alvey, Andrew Reeves, Hyrum Lamont, Garrett Stokes and Harrison Moore.

“We really appreciate them,” Zufelt said. “They worked really hard.”

For those interesting in pursuing an automotive career, MTECH’s auto program is offered at three campus locations: Lehi, Payson and the recently opened Heber Valley, where Zufelt said approximately 200 students are working at state-of-the-art facilities. Students doing the two-year course spend three hours a day in the shop, while students doing the one-year course are in the shop six hours a day. 

“It’s set up to just get them everything that they need to know to get into industry with as many certifications as possible at the most affordable price that’s possible,” Zufelt said. “I would say the majority, maybe 90% of our students, graduate without any student loan debt. So it’s the best game. It’s the best deal ever invented.”