With so many industries and companies looking to recruit skilled, quality employees, finding ones that fit your business and needs can be difficult. Knowing where to start can be challenging. We’ve found that one of the greatest building blocks in creating a highly skilled and educated workforce is supporting your local high school career and technology center.
What better way to find the right fit for your business than to start where the molding of these future employees begins? The connection between industry and education opens a clear pathway for today’s generation to have a successful career in automotive. Some ways to provide support include joining a local school’s automotive program advisory board, hosting students for internships, or donating tools and resources for instructors to use in their classrooms.
On December 4th, 2023, we witnessed an amazing example of such support. After receiving a phone call from Scott Mayotte, an Instructor at Seacoast School of Technology, we hopped in the car and headed to Exeter. There we met Jason Quenneville, Operating Partner at McGee Mazda of Claremont, as well as McGee Toyota of Epping’s Service Manager Ariel Sallemi. With everyone assembled together, Ariel handed over the keys to a 2023 Mazda CX-50 to SST instructor Jeff Main. The high school automotive instructors will now be able to use the vehicle in everyday practice, guiding their students with a mix of hands-on training and classroom lectures. By applying the skills they learn in the classroom, and in the shop, these students will develop the real-life skills they need to enter today’s workforce as educated and productive career technicians.
This donation by the McGee Automotive Family, and countless others across the state, are part of the reason why these auto education programs are so successful. We’re not saying you must donate a vehicle to build a relationship with your local high school career and technical center. Even the smallest involvement forges relationships and supports local education sources to help build success in our industry. Hats off to Jason and Ariel of the McGee Automotive Family and the instructors at Seacoast School of Technology for coming together and helping to ensure these future technicians get a great start in our industry.
If you or someone at your dealership would like to know more about how to get involved, please reach out to us at any time at foundation@nhada.com or 603-224-2369. We will connect you with your local high school career and technical center where you can help build our skilled workforce and possibly help grow your shop's next top-notch technician.