Ford is encouraging college students in 4 U.S. cities to develop into future automotive technicians with a $1 million scholarship fund. The firm needs to handle an ongoing scarcity of auto techs with the brand new scholarship, in accordance to Automotive News. There are reportedly simply not sufficient techs popping out of colleges, so Ford is stepping in with the Ford Auto Tech Scholarship, accessible to college students in Greater Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix beginning this summer time.
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The scholarship will probably be given to 200 present or future college students who’re (or plan to be) “enrolled in post-secondary auto or auto- and diesel-related technician training programs,” per Auto News. Each of the scholars will obtain $5,000, and the cash can be utilized to cowl the price of attendance, tuition, instruments, dwelling bills and transportation.
Demand for auto techs in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix is rising, however native colleges are struggling to crank out sufficient techs to get them into dealerships and different retailers. And demand isn’t slowing any time quickly, with Ford estimating the necessity for techs to extend “by 14 percent in Arizona, 10 percent in Texas, seven percent in Georgia and three percent in the city of Chicago,” as Auto News studies.
Ford has already launched initiatives to encourage college students to enter automotive engineering or adjoining careers in computer systems or different technical areas. The buzz phrase is STEM — brief for science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic. STEM-related research and the significance thereof has been bandied round colleges for years, nevertheless it’s largely been within the context of four-year packages resulting in a level in any of the areas talked about above.
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We are now seeing an increase in programs aimed specifically at techs, and Auto News mentions this latest scholarship is among at least seven others sponsored by the U.S. auto giant, which are meant to increase the number of automotive techs in regions where they are needed most. Ford plans to keep an eye on the program and may expand the Ford Auto Tech Scholarship to other regions in the U.S. pending the results.
The Ford Auto Tech Scholarship is backed by Ford dealers as well as the Ford Fund, which is also handling the funds as the automaker’s philanthropic arm.
Of course, the initiative is not exactly as disinterested or philanthropic as it may seem. Giving 200 young scholars and budding master mechanics $5,000 a piece is undoubtedly a good thing, but this could also be a boon for Ford; the company plans to focus on service and repairs at many of its dealerships as the U.S. transitions to direct sales and EVs, which means that Ford is going to need more techs in the near future.
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Source: jalopnik.com