ASE is short for "National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence." ASE certification sets out to do away with poor service, and incomplete education. ASE certification is indicated by logos, displayed certification for specific personnel in specific subjects and even uniform insignia. Customers and employers can have confidence in the skills of trained individuals. ASE certification may make it far easier to get employment too. Rather than having to explain skills and experience, by producing an ASE certificate you can prove that you have reached a specific level of knowledge and expertise; the car owner, employer, and employee all benefit.
Vocational training is not always as easy to judge for quality as academic subjects. Academic subjects hold exams and a mark or grade is awarded. There is usually little emphasis on practical skills. The complete reverse is true of vocational training. It is difficult to compare two candidates simply by setting a written or verbal test because the area is largely practical in nature. To this end it can be difficult to assess a potential employee for skills, knowledge and aptitude. Some trainees may learn on the job as they go along. Here they are at the mercy of whatever their supervisor chooses to teach them and when they choose to teach them. This has several drawbacks such as trying to learn and work concurrently, the supervisor may not have any teacher training, and there may not be a curriculum of any sort so education may be patchy or even out of date.