Assessments & Certifications
OEM Cross-Credit Process
For technicians who are entering GM STC with transcripts from other manufacturers, you may be eligible to receive credit for your previously completed training through Service Area Placement Assessments (SAPA). These are streamlined assessments conveniently located in one place in a reduced testing format to honor the training you’ve already completed. If you pass the SAPAs, you will receive credit for those courses that you test out of.
The eligible service areas include:
- Engine Performance
- Engine Repair
- Electrical/Electronics
- Manual Drivetrain & Axle
- Automatic Transmission
- Brakes
- Steering & Suspension
- HVAC
NOTE: Technicians must have completed the hands-on courses in the requested service area from their previous employment to be eligible.
If you have prior automotive technical training from another manufacturer, simply follow these three steps in order to receive credit for GM training.
- Submit your transcripts to your service manager.
- Complete your eligible placement assessments. You will have two attempts to pass. If you do not pass the assessment, you will need to complete the remaining courses including the associated hands-on course.
- Upon successful completion of the assessment, you will be provided a link to download the hands-on checklist. Complete this checklist with your service manager to ensure you are proficient in each task related to that particular service area. Your service manager will then be able to provide credit for the hands-on course.
For Technicians
To find out which SAPAs you qualify for, log into the Center of Learning, navigate to the Testing Tab, select Service Technical, then Service Area Placement Assessments.
Select a Service Area Placement Assessment and take the assessments. You will get two attempts to pass, and you must get at least an 80% score to pass.
All assessments that you qualify for will appear on this page.
To take an assessment, select the assessment you’d like to take, and click “Launch.”
Once you have passed, you will receive an email with your assessment results.
If you do not pass the service area assessment, you will have to complete the remaining GM training courses in that category, including the hands-on courses.
Once you complete the eligible assessments, you will be able to rate the courses.
For Dealers
You can see the list of Service Area Placement Assessments your technicians have passed in the Center of Learning. In order to give them credit for the assessment, select “Approve” and then “SUBMIT.”
GM Master Technician Certification (MTC) Assessment
To attain MTC, the technician must be 100% STS in both Silver and Gold and complete all MTC components. GM MTC Assessment is a performance-based event in which each service technician must demonstrate knowledge and diagnostic skills. During the GM MTC event, each service technician is required to solve real vehicle faults by applying the accumulated learning from all courses in the Certification Area. The GM MTC Assessment Program covers 13 of the 15 service categories (it excludes Fundamentals and Emerging Issues.) MTC assessments are administered at training locations across the country.
The GM MTC Assessment contains a comprehension component and a practical evaluation to assess the service technician’s knowledge and diagnostic skills. Each Assessment consists of timed exercises that have been developed based upon the critical elements of the courses across the Certification Area and real-life concerns.
To achieve GM Master Technician Certification, a service technician must successfully pass the GM STC Certification Event and be ASE certified in that area.
GM STC recognizes a one-year certification with an annual renewal on Master Technician Certifications. The MTC program allows service technicians to retain their certification if they are at 100% on their STS training requirements.
Once a service technician successfully completes a MTC assessment, that service technician will remain Master Technician Certified as long as they continue to meet their STS requirements for the area(s) in which they are certified. The service technician must maintain their ASE Certification for that category as well.
The Service Technician Assessment Process is as follows:
- Each exercise is designed to assess each service technician’s ability to diagnose and apply skills with a simulated real-life customer concern using cross-divisional vehicles.
- To successfully complete a Certification Event, the service technician must obtain a total score of 80% or better across the performance-based exercises. During the assessment, a certifier who has received extensive training in conducting performance-based assessments evaluates the service technician’s skills.
A service technician who receives GM MTC status receives the following items:
Letter
Certificate of Achievement*
Patch**
*Only the first certificate will be mailed. Additional Certificates are available for download online.
**Additional GM patches are available for purchase through the Center of Learning Help Desk.
If a service technician does not satisfy all of the assessment requirements, a letter indicating the areas for improvement is provided to the service technician.
The service technician’s Learning Path and the STS/MTC tables define the courses in an area that must be completed before the service technician may enroll for the Certification Event. Service technicians can enroll for a Certification Event in the same manner they would for a course component.
During the enrollment process, the service technician is given the option to download:
- A Certification Event Performance Task List – which allows the technician to self-assess and verify they have the skills necessary to pass the certification
- A GM MTC Preparation Guide – which provides additional information about the assessments
Additionally, on each of the ASE Certification pages on the Center of Learning, technicians can download an ASE Prep Guide to help them prepare for their needed ASE Certifications. Below is a table listing the required ASE Certifications for each Service Area MTC.
| Mechanical | |
|---|---|
| Course | ASE Requirement |
| Electrical/Electronics | A6 |
| Engine Repair | A1 |
| Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning | A7 |
| Brakes | A5 |
| Steering and Suspension | A4 |
| Manual Drivetrain and Axle | A3 |
| Automatic Transmission/Tranaxle | A2 |
| Engine Performance | A8 and L1 |
| or | or |
| Diesel Engine Performance | A9 |
Cadillac-Branded Patches
Cadillac franchised Dealers have the opportunity to select Cadillac-branded Master Technician Certification (MTC) and World Class Technician (WCT) patches for their technicians. Cadillac Certified Service, in partnership with the Cadillac Dealer Council, implemented this new, creative solution to help Cadillac Dealers recognize their highest achieving technicians. To further elevate the role of our Cadillac technicians, Cadillac franchised dealers can edit existing and new technician profiles to indicate their dealer’s patch preference.
Note: These Cadillac patches will not match the existing MTC or WCT patches. Cadillac Dealers can order additional patches their technicians’ are qualified for at an extra cost.
The decision to switch to Cadillac-branded patches is a dealer decision, NOT an individual technician decision. To change your preferences from GM-branded to Cadillac-branded patches, first coordinate with your Service Manager to approve that your dealer is making the switch.
For the step-by-step instruction on how to update your patch preference, refer to the Cadillac-branded Patches Job Aid on the Center of Learning through the Help/Support button.
GM Master Technician Certification Preparation Guide
The GM MTC Preparation Guide is a reference tool for service technicians preparing to take a Master Technician Certification Event. It helps service technicians by explaining how to prepare for the assessment, what happens on the assessment day, and what happens following the assessment. It is included as an attachment to every certification catalog entry in the Center of Learning.
GM Master Technician Certification Performance Checklist
The Certification Performance Checklist lists the knowledge, skills, and performance criteria in which the service technician should be proficient prior to a Certification Event. The service technician and the service manager may utilize the Certification Event Performance Checklist to evaluate the service technician’s performance. This checklist determines if the service technician is ready to participate in the Certification Event or should attend the instructor-led course component prior to the assessment. The service technician can also use the checklist to prepare for the assessment.
GM World Class Technician (WCT)
A technician can achieve GM World Class Technician status in the Mechanical area. It’s achieved when a technician successfully completes all related training and the appropriate Master Technician Certifications.
Service technicians can achieve WCT status in the Mechanical area when they successfully achieve eight of nine MTCs with their accompanying ASE Certifications. This includes being 100% STS in Fundamentals. They have a choice of completing either Engine Performance or Diesel Engine Performance along with seven mechanical-related certifications. These areas are as follows in the chart below:
| Mechanical | |
| Course | ASE Requirement |
| Electrical/Electronics | A6 |
| Engine Repair | A1 |
| Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning | A7 |
| Brakes | A5 |
| Steering and Suspension | A4 |
| Manual Drivetrain and Axle | A3 |
| Automatic Transmission/Tranaxle | A2 |
| Engine Performance | A8 and L1 |
| or | or |
| Diesel Engine Performance | A9 |
Technicians who receive World Class Technician status receive a gift package that includes the following:
- Letter of Recognition signed by the Director, Dealer Service, and Warranty Operations
- WCT statue (new design in 2021)
- WCT patch
- WCT toolbox medallion (introduced in 2017, new design in 2021)
- Downloadable certificate from the Center of Learning
Performance Assurance
The GM STC program has an evaluation system in place to measure the effectiveness of the performance-based curriculum and the delivery media. GM STC evaluates the performance of the training program at four levels:
Other Feedback Mechanisms
GM’s Customer Care and Aftersales division provides Dealer Satisfaction Survey results to GM STC to gauge service managers’ opinions of GM STC training products. The survey results provide valuable input for short-term and long-term improvement initiatives, ensuring continuous improvement to the GM STC program.
ASE Accreditation
Becoming an ASE Accredited Training Provider is a highly regarded accomplishment in the service technical training area, as it recognizes those organizations who provide outstanding technical training to service technicians. GM STC initially achieved this status in the automotive training industry by being awarded accreditation for its Service Technical Training curriculum in 2001.
Becoming accredited is a voluntary ASE certification program for training entities that provide continuing education to working automotive service technicians. The ASE Education Foundation administers the program and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) grants the certification.
The accreditation program certifies training providers for working service technicians. ASE Education Foundation evaluates the training providers’ process of developing and delivering training and then recommends accreditation, when appropriate, as an ASE Certified Training Provider.
There are many benefits to receiving training from a ASE Certified Training Provider including:
- The recognition that the training provider and its processes have been reviewed against industry established and endorsed standards.
- The accreditation process serves as a tool for program improvement.