New Scholarship Opportunities

This just in from AMN and the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium:

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- The Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) Scholarship Committee has announced that the Automotive Aftermarket Association Southeast (Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi) will be collaborating in creating an online scholarship resource for students planning to pursue careers in the automotive aftermarket.
This industry association cooperation will allow students interested in aftermarket careers to submit one application for 2008 scholarships online at www.automotivescholarships.org and receive consideration for the following scholarships: Automotive Aftermarket Association of the Carolinas and Tennessee (AAACT), Automotive Parts & Service Alliance (APSA), the Breslow Foundation, California/Nevada Automotive Wholesalers’ Association (CAWA) and Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS). Applicants must meet the individual scholarship qualifications to be considered.

“This is a valuable resource for students seeking careers in the automotive industry. We are pleased to have APSA of Illinois as part of this important effort to promote this investment in our industry’s future,” said Pete Kornafel, chairman of the GAAS Scholarship Selection Committee.
“We appreciate very much the efforts of Mr. Kornafel and the GAAS organization in offering this great opportunity for intra-industry cooperation and communication. Those interested in furthering their education and looking to a career in the automotive industry, along with the industry itself, will be the real winners here,” said Randal Ward, CAE, president of AAAS. “I know that is the number one objective of each individual organization involved in this effort. Speaking for Foundation Chairman Jimmy Edwards of A-1 Auto Parts in Philadelphia, MA, I can say we are very happy and proud to be part of this team,” he added.

The GAAS scholarship program awarded 142 scholarships in 2007. Including this year’s awards, GAAS has presented more than 1,300 scholarships and more than $1.3 million since it was formed. Details about the GAAS scholarship program are available at http://www.automotivescholarships.com/.
Over its 13-year history, the annual Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) has become the premier industry conference for senior-level aftermarket executives. All of the net proceeds from the event go toward funding industry scholarships. The 2008 event is slated for Tuesday, May 20, and Wednesday, May 21, at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Chicago. Speakers and registration details will be available soon at http://www.globalsymposium.org/.

2007 AYES Training Conference

The 2007 AYES Training Conference is upon us. Tomorrow's Technician editor, Ed Sunkin, and I will be headed north this afternoon to join the rest of the Conference attendees at the beautiful Dearborn Hyatt Regency. The Conference began yesterday with a computer lab from 5 p.m. to 10 pm, as well as an Instructor Troubleshooting Competition from 7 pm to 9 pm. AYES provides a full week of opportunity for instructors to update their education, as well as network with each other and other automotive industry personnel. Today, from 8 a.m. to 5.15 p.m., they have two separate training sessions. One is Automotive Technology Technical Training and will include instruction on Brakes, Engine Performance, Electrical/Electronics, and Steering/Suspension. At the same time, there will be a full day of Collision Repair and Refinish training, led by PPG, DuPont, Akzo Nobel, Sherwin Williams, and BASF. AYES is serious about educating the educator!

This evening we'll attend the Manufacturer Welcome Dinner, sponsored by General Motors Corporation, followed by a few hours of hospitality. Last year, the dinner featured several interesting speakers from the major supporters of AYES. The hospitality provided us with a great opportunity to mingle with the instructors and school administrators. Generally, discussion centered around the kind of information you want us to provide with Tomorrow's Technician. We received a lot of great feedback and Ed and I are looking forward to another productive evening in Dearborn tonight.

Tomorrow and Thursday the training will continue. Wednesday's focus will be on AYES Model Training, and Thursday features Enrichment Training. I admire the AYES model because (from what I have seen) it provides a strong platform upon which each school can build a robust automotive program, and ultimately bring well-trained repair technicians into the automotive repair world. It seems as though they provide a lot of materials and support for both the instructor and school administrators.