The month of May was filled with virtual and in-person visits to New Hampshire’s 19 career and technical high schools. Our College and Career Days were personalized to each school and gave us the opportunity to speak to automotive students about the benefits of automotive careers, NH’s community college programs and NHAEF scholarship opportunities. Each visit we made, representatives from the industry joined us to connect with the students and speak to them about the opportunities available today in the automotive industry.
It has been a tough year for connecting with students, but these events were an excellent way for NHADA as well as industry representatives to engage with students again. The in-person events had a lot of energy; students asked important questions about the different career options, scholarships and college costs and how advances in technology will affect the auto industry. We highlighted the affordability of community college and the earn while you learn potential, as well as scholarships offered by the New Hampshire Automotive Education Foundation. Industry representatives gave authentic insight into the state of the industry, opportunities for growth, salary expectations, and what they look for in an intern or employee. When allowed, they could also bring cars, trucks, motorcycles, and ATVs to show students.
Through our College and Career Days, we also rolled out our Race to 5K initiative to raise awareness about automotive careers and build a community of students, parents, and industry partners who want to learn more about the booming industry. We have seen a great response to this initiative. We can provide targeted outreach to students about community colleges and the automotive career pathways they are interested in. We raffled off prizes to students who subscribed to the Race to 5K, and they have also been entered to win a $5,000 scholarship at our Big Raffle event.
While we look forward to having a more traditional College and Career Day event next year, we are thrilled to have connected with all of the schools this spring. We will continue to promote Automotive careers, NH’s community colleges, and our Race to 5K in the coming months.
