AERAC Certification Update By Mike Athay Reprinted from the May issue of Canrebuild News, the newsletter for members of the Auto Electric Rebuilders Association of Canada. Many years ago in the early days of AERAC, the need for some sort of recognition for rebuilders was deemed necessary and a committee was estab- lished to investigate. After all, in order to install components on motor vehicles in Canada for remuneration, one has to be properly licensed. Why not a similar law for rebuilders? Geographically, it was considered impractical to try to establish a training program at any particular college and the obvious answer eventually dawned when it was suggested we use a cor- respondence course. A course was developed with ICS (International Correspondence Schools) and actu- ally approved by the Ontario govern- ment as an unregulated trade. This ba- sically meant that, while the govern- ment would recognize those who had taken the course and passed the ex- amination, it would not restrict others who had not taken the course from practicing the trade. In other words, anyone who knew which end of the hammer to hold and could dismantle and reassemble a 10SI could call him or herself a rebuilder. The course was not cheap, but then again, anything of value should not be cheap. On the other hand, it was not expensive, amortized over the time needed to complete the study and pass the exam. Because it was government approved, it also included some com- pulsory basic (grade 10) math and trigonometry elements which were considered unnecessary by some people who were thinking about tak- ing the course. These two factors re- sulted in very few people taking the course and because of inactivity, gov- ernment approval was revoked. Later, at aregular meeting at Oakville Starter Altermator Limited when a government employee addressed the assembly, he pointed out that because of cutbacks, they could not consider programs where only a few people would be in- volved. This means that we are on our own. There is no government funding. There is no government approval. There are no restrictions. There are no standards. Anyone can hang a sign and may improve the rebuilder image, or may devastate the marketplace. There are still those among us who believe that a certification program would be worthwhile. It would give a prospective “apprentice” a goal to work toward. It would give an em- ployer a standard by which to appraise a prospective employee. Perhaps most importantly, it would improve the in- dustry image. Regularly, we read on iATN that after several ‘aftermarket’ units, ‘one from the dealer’ solved the problem. We all know that ‘one from the dealer’ is also an aftermarket prod- uct. It may have come from the same source as the other units but the con- ception is that it is better. We have to change that notion and the only way to do that is by proving that we know our stuff, which involves training, then more training, because every day, there is new ‘stuff’ on the market. But how many are prepared to commit to on- going training? The Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA) also embarked on acertification project for its mem- bers. The inaugural clinic and exami- AUGUST, 2001 nation, prepared and administered by the much respected Mohammad Samii, was at the APRA Electrical Clinic held in Reston, VA, May 5 to 7. APRA has over 2,000 members. Only 22 members, about one percent, at- tended the clinic and sat the exam. This must have been a disappointment for both APRA and Samii. Establishing an AERAC certification program will in- volve a lot of work, work that will be done ona voluntary basis by AERAC members who also have businesses to operate. If AERAC is to embark on such a program we must be assured that it is wanted and will be supported by the membership. A committee of volunteers comprising myself, John Jervelund, John Bondor, Peter Brown- ing and Mike Hutchinson (Jeff Reynolds was unable to attend owing to illness) has already met and outlined the following elements for the pro- posed program: ¢ Health and Safety. * Perform preliminary diagnosis, demonstrate troubleshooting tech- niques, inspect (adjust and/or replace) belts and pulleys. * Access information on catalogs and other service-related materials. * Select, operate and maintain hand, cutting and pneumatic and electric power tools, shop equipment and di- mensional measuring devices. * Soldering techniques. * Proper use of fastener and sealing devices. * Calibrate and operate electrical test equipment. * Trace wiring circuits, test, remove, repair and/or replace lighting system components. * Remove, replace and/or repair wiring system components. ¢ Inspect, test, clean, charge and/ or replace storage batteries. Page 1 of 2