On the Road with College and Career Days and The Race to 5K

It has been a tough year for connecting with students, but these events were a great way for NHADA as well as members from the industry to engage with students again. The in-person events had a lot of energy with students asking important questions about the different career options, scholarships and college costs, as well as 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 were also able to 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 great response with this initiative and are able to provide targeted outreach to students about community colleges and the automotive career pathways that 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 very happy 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.