LCC's auto tech ASE certification spells excellent opportunities
for mechanic professionals and auto repair consumers

ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) Master Certification for Laredo Community College's Automotive Technology curriculum will likely foster an enhanced ability for Laredoans to get quality repairs for their automobiles, according auto tech instructor Victor Borges, the prime mover and shaker for the effort to have the LCC program certified.
The LCC auto tech program received certification July 24 from the non-profit National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF), which evaluates technician training programs.
There is no greater prognosticator of positives for how the ASE Master Certification could foment changes across the business community for Laredoans. "As more and more mechanics make it through the LCC program and as more of them pass the arduous tests for ASE certification, you will see changes in the quality of car repairs in Laredo," said Borges, adding, "Auto agencies hire only ASE mechanics, and now the pool will be larger and more skilled. We have added the credential of excellence to the cumulative mechanical knowledge of our graduates, who are skilled professionals. This I believe in the end spells out a higher confidence level for the consumer who needs repairs," he continued.
"In the greater scheme of things, manufacturers considering locating to Laredo would want to know whether or not we had a skilled workforce of mechanics to draw from," Borges said.
"Those mechanics who graduate from the LCC program have completed a curriculum in a lab learning environment that has offered them critical thinking experiences -- that is to say having the experience while hearing the narrative. Our graduates end up with an associate degree that has put them through courses in all eight ASE areas -- engine repair; automotive transmission repair; manual transmission repair; suspension and steering; brakes; electrical and electronic systems; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; and engine performance," he said.
Borges said that repair giants like PEP Boys hire only ASE mechanics who by their skills have the ability to make more than the store manager.
Borges, a native of Puerto Rico and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, worked over the last three years towards ASE certification for the college's Auto Technology program.