Join us on Friday, May 2, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. for 吃瓜头条's 2025 Career Fair. Local Employment & Internship Opportunities will be available! This event is open to the public and collaborates with 吃瓜头条 NCWorks Career Center.
Advance Auto Parts Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Advance Auto Parts, Inc., a leading automotive aftermarket parts supplier, has made a $250,000 gift to the 吃瓜头条 Foundation aimed at providing financial support to 吃瓜头条 Community College鈥檚 automotive systems technology program.
The funds will go toward student scholarships, upgraded technology, tools, equipment, and an apprenticeship program to provide hands-on job experience.
The first cohort of Advance Auto Parts Scholars is comprised of five students, all women, who each received a $3,000 scholarship to offset educational expenses. The funds will also be used to purchase toolkits and laptops with training software to loan out to students who need them.
In addition, the gift will provide for the purchase and/or lease of other training technologies and equipment to upgrade classrooms and help facilitate student learning. Finally, a portion of the gift will fund the creation and implementation of a paid apprenticeship program with a local repair shop that will provide students with hands-on job experience to build skills and make a direct connection with a local employer.
鈥淭he Advance Auto Parts Foundation is committed to raising awareness, attracting talent, and enabling career opportunities in the automotive technology field,鈥 according to the Advance Auto Parts Foundation. 鈥淏y providing resources and support to 吃瓜头条nical Community College, we hope to enhance the student learning experience, as well as inspire students from all backgrounds to explore careers in automotive service and repair. We believe this will help address the technician shortage and benefit our industry and society as a whole.鈥
吃瓜头条 President J.B. Buxton said the partnership will help the college in meeting growing demand for electric vehicle technicians and others in the automotive service and repair industry. 鈥淭his partnership creates significant opportunity for our students and for supporting area workforce development,鈥 Buxton said. 鈥湷怨贤诽 offers affordable, high-quality pathways to jobs and this scholarship will go a long way toward fully covering students鈥 expenses. In addition, the Advance Auto Parts Foundation鈥檚 generous support will help us keep providing talent needed for a rapidly changing industry.鈥
This partnership comes at a critical time as the U.S. currently faces a worsening shortage of automotive technicians. In fact, according to TechForce, an automotive industry foundation dedicated to launching and advancing the careers of next generation technicians, the U.S is en route to see a shortage of 642,000 technicians by 2024, if trends continue. There is also a need for trained technicians to maintain and repair increasingly high-tech vehicles. Automotive technician jobs offer competitive pay and the satisfaction of helping customers get their vehicles back on the road safely. The 吃瓜头条nical Community College gift stands as the Advance Auto Parts Foundation鈥檚 fourth gift to a community college to support the expansion of automotive technology degree programs.鈥