This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Automotive Management Institute (AMI), a provider of management education for the automotive service and collision repair industries.
AMI offers 1,300 approved courses, a faculty of 300 approved instructors and the Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation. To date, its programs have attracted 230,000 enrollments throughout North America, notes AMI.
AMI says it was founded 25 years ago based on the concept that there was an abundance of technical education in the market, but very little industry-specific management education.
At the start, AMI offered 26 courses taught by 10 instructors. Today, courses are offered on a range of topics including marketing and sales, operations and service, management and administration, financial management, and personnel management and human resource development. Students can choose from several formats including webinars, online courses, DVD-quality downloads, self-study workbooks and traditional classroom settings.
Steve Louden, one of the founding members of AMI and owner of Louden Motorcar Services, Inc., Dallas, Texas, said, “After 25 years, many shop owners would not be in business if not for the management education they received from AMI. For them to succeed in the future, management education is a must.”
Louden also is one of the first to earn the Institute’s AAM designation. In the past 25 years, more than 1,700 students have completed 120 credits of education and graduated from AMI with the AAM designation.
“In 1989, our founders had a vision – to make management education specifically tailored to the industry accessible to owners, managers and their staff,” said AMI executive director, Toni Slaton, AAM.
“Since then, more than 700 AMI-approved courses are delivered annually at many of the industry’s largest events.”
The Institute will celebrate its 25th anniversary with special events throughout the year, starting with the Congress of Automotive Repair & Service (CARS) and the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) June 30-Aug. 1, 2014, in Detroit.
For more information visit www.AMIonline.org.
