General Motors Middle East (GM MEO) has announced the winners of the tenth edition of itsDealer Skills Competition to support and upskill technicians as part of its global safety vision of returning people home safely. The virtual climax to the six-month program took place on December 15th naming Oscar Ochoa Jr. from Alghanim Automotivein Kuwait as the overall winner from over 1,000 participants from across the Middle East.

Technicians went through a series of online tests to reach a finalist line-up of 24 who were able to take part in the final skills competition in December. For the first time this year, technicians were given a combination of virtual and physical tasks to test their ability to diagnose and remedy problems.

Challenges included a mystery box that brought to the fore their ability to use various measuring tools and a noise, vibration, and harshness test that asked them to find the reason a car was vibrating, putting their diagnostic skills to the test. Further spotlighting their diagnostic skills was a Global Diagnostic System SnapShot, while a remote diagnosis test, came to be amongst the most taxing elements of the final hurdle, showcasing their skills in the increasingly important ability to diagnose engine troubles offsite. Technicians were invited to tune in to the car, control all the functions and modules remotely using the schematic diagram and asked to pinpoint the bug and find the root cause of a problem.

The award ceremony was held virtually on Wednesday the 15th of December, spanning two hours, recognizing the holistic efforts of technicians over the six months. The celebrations were tuned into by over150 GM employees, partners and sponsors including Milwaukee Tool, Advanced Solutionz, GP Strategies, Michelin, and Bosch.

Rohan Fernandes, Director of Customer Care & Aftersales at General Motors Africa & Middle East said, “We take pride in our initiatives supporting our dealer network such as the Dealer Skills Competition, actively encouraging their performance. It is a way to collaborate, learn from each other and recognize those that are going above and beyond to live up to our service culture of always putting our customers first. Together we have the will, skill and scale to reach new heights. Congratulations to everyone who took part and to our winners.”

The top ten winners were named as follows:

1. Oscar Ochoa Jr. Alghanim Automotive, Kuwait

2. Roel Padronia, National Motors Company, Bahrain

3. Geoffrey Bavion, Alghanim Automotive, Kuwait

4. Richard Compuesto, Al Ghandi Auto, UAE

5. Jerome Egera, Al Ghandi Auto, UAE

6. Mary Joseph Uy, Al Jomaih Automotive Company, KSA

7. Joven Benito, Al Jomaih Automotive Company, KSA

8. Aljhun Manalo, Mannai Trading Company, Qatar

9. Efren Aaro, Al Ghandi Auto, UAE

10. EulitoSajonia, Alghanim Automotive, Kuwait