On Sunday, March 10, Toyota Hawaii held its 2019 Toyota Master Technician Skills Contest at the Technical Training Center in Mapunapuna. The Skills contest challenged participating Master Technicians on their knowledge of automotive technology and skill level to perform diagnosis and repairs on vehicles.
To qualify for the competition, technicians needed to achieve Master status by December 31 of last year. To become a Toyota Master Tech, technicians must complete a total of 270 training hours in both the classroom and web modules. They must also receive their Automotive Service Excellence certification in eight different areas and have 60 months of work experience in a Toyota dealership.
In this year’s Skills Contest, 11 Master Technicians competed against one another in a two part competition. The first involved a written exam, from which the top five scorers moved on to the practical examination. During the practical, each technician went through three rounds, each focusing on a different bug placed in their vehicle. The Master Tech was scored on their performance in diagnosing the complaint on the vehicle, and steps taken to resolve the issue.
The first skills contest was held in 1991. There were four divisions in the state and each division sent one representative technician to compete for the title of Grand Champion. Currently, we have three Grand Champions still employed in our Toyota dealerships.
After a long day and numerous rounds of practical exams, Royce Fujimoto from Motor Imports was announced as the 2019 Toyota Master Tech Skills Contest winner!
Royce will receive over $4,000 in prizes plus a trip to Japan where he will be inducted into the Society of Champions. Congratulations, Royce!