ROANOKE, Va., March 8, 2017 – Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP), a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers, announced its support of the FutureTech SuccessSM campaign, a nationwide program launched by the TechForce Foundation to recruit and educate the next generation of automotive industry technicians.
As many as half of today’s automotive technicians are likely to retire within the next 10 years. The FutureTech Success campaign strives to ignite conversation about the robust career opportunities in the automotive field among middle school and high school aged students, as well as with students’ parents. FutureTech Success is tapping industry influencers and communicating across channels the millennial audience gravitate to, such as video and social media. Campaign organizers are also developing after school and summer programs where students can learn firsthand about modern vehicle technology and its applications to career paths in science, math and engineering.
“The automotive industry must do a better job appealing to the millennial workforce. Students today need to know that a career as a technician means using hi-tech equipment and critical thinking to diagnose complex technology and problems. And that the automotive field offers a career path with ample opportunities for growth,” said Al Wheeler, SVP, Commercial Business at Advance Auto Parts. “Advance is proud to support the FutureTech Success initiative to further these conversations across the country.”
Advance is committed to promoting technical training and continued education in the automotive industry. Through Carquest Technical Institute (CTI), which operates a 9,000-square-foot R+D Center and offers instructor-led education programs throughout North America, Advance has developed a curriculum of automotive training classes designed to add structure to the career path of individuals entering and advancing through the aftermarket. Classes help address professional repair shops’ need for quality training among their employees, from weeklong onboarding events for new technicians to highly specialized master tech training.
Through its support of the FutureTech Success campaign and the TechForce Foundation, Advance will make available to students unique interactive training tools including Virtual Vehicle 3D animations, online repair simulator challenges and demos of MotoLOGIC Repair & Diagnostics advanced search technology.
For more information about Advance Auto Parts’ support of the TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Success campaign, please visit techforce.org/futuretech-success.
About Advance Auto Parts
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers. As of December 31, 2016, Advance operated 5,062 stores and 127 WORLDPAC branches and employed 74,000 Team Members in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company also serves approximately 1,250 independently owned Carquest branded stores across these locations in addition to Mexico and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Pacific Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts, accessories and other offerings can be found on the Company’s website at AdvanceAutoParts.com.
About TechForce Foundation
TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional technicians for the transportation industry. Annually, TechForce Foundation provides over $1 million in scholarships & grants to help students obtain their post-secondary, technical training and is leading the industry-wide FutureTech Success campaign to bridge the skills gap and develop the talented workforce needed to keep America moving. For more information, visit www.techforce.org.
