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STEP History |
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The BMW STEP (Service Technician Education Program) was conceived by
Hans Duenzl, Vice President of Engineering and Aftersales, with advice and input from the BMW network of dealers.
BMW was on the brink of unprecedented
sales growth. Recognizing the fact that in order for the service side of the
organization to keep pace with increasing sales, it would need a method by
which it could develop top quality service personnel, Mr. Duenzl was adamant
when he said, "If we are to remain ahead of our competition, not only do we have to
continue to produce more exciting and innovative products, but we have to continue to
meet and exceed our discriminating customers' high expectations for the kind of flawless
maintenance and repair support that lives up to the BMW name". He continued by stating. "...
we need to produce more qualified technicians who possess the requisite skills, aptitude
and attitudinal qualities to be BMW professionals. I'm convinced we can meet the challenge in a timely fashion
through a program that will provide an intense download of technology to hand-picked, bright and
dependable men and women who have proven to be achievers." So, after careful planning, STEP was born.
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In 1997, STEP graduated 70 technicians with the same training that is
required for a BMW Master Technician. Students were selected from only
those who excelled while in post secondary automotive school. Those first
graduates of STEP were well received and the program was subsequently
increased. The following year, STEP graduated 103 more and is
now expecting to graduate approximately 340 new BMW service technicians
every year. By the end of
2002 STEP will have graduated and hired over 1200 new BMW service
technicians. Many BMW centers will not hire anyone who is not STEP trained.
There has never been a time in the history of the automotive industry where
an aspiring automotive technician has had so many valuable career
opportunities to choose from. If you are an automotive technical school
graduate and might be interested in STEP please take some time to look
through the pages of this site to see if you qualify and decide if STEP is
right for you.
Sincerely,
Brian Nelson,
BMW of North America
Program Manager, STEP/AYES.
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