MNCARS: On a Roll
Minnesota Careers in Auto Repair and Service (MNCARS) is a non-profit organization established in 2016 by the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN). Its sole purpose is to promote careers in the automotive industry, recruit young people into the state’s college-level automotive service and collision repair programs and, ultimately, into industry workplaces. Now 18 months into the initiative, MNCARS is pleased to report progress on a number of fronts…
• Developed website, social media presence, marketing materials, counselors kit and other collateral to educate target audiences (“tinkerers”, school counselors and parents) about the career opportunities in today’s automotive service and collision repair industry
• Established an industry speaker’s bureau and recruited “student ambassadors” to promote careers in the auto service and collision industry
• Presented to middle school and high school automotive students and participated in career and college fairs throughout the state
• Activated social media campaign to drive traffic to carcareers.org
• Sponsored St. Cloud Times SPARK feature on transportation careers and event at St. Cloud CTC
• Distributed introductory materials and career promotion posters to school counselors
• Organized World of Wheels Student Day
• Attended MN School Counselors Association conference (2015 – 2017)
• Exhibited at Back to the 50s (2016 & 2017)
Since January, 2017, the MNCARS message has reached:
• Over 8,400 middle and high school students
• 750+ average monthly visitors to www.carcareers.org
• 3,000 MNCARS video viewers
• Over 53,000 Facebookers
• Over 52,000 Snapchatters
• 465 Instagrammers
• Over 1,000 school counselors
• Over 150,000 Central MN residents
Dan Sjolseth, owner of Superior Service Centers in Eagan and Apple Valley, and chairman of MNCARS, states, “Those of us who have been involved in this effort from the beginning feel like we’re really starting to gain some momentum. Counselors, educators and parents appear to be much more receptive to the idea that a 4-year college degree is not for everyone and that the skilled trades – especially automotive – have a lot to offer: rewarding and varied career paths with high earnings potential in a high-tech, high-demand industry.”
Looking ahead, plans are underway to:
• Activate the grassroots army of AASP-MN members at the local level to spread the MNCARS message far and wide
• Partner with the MN Transportation Center of Excellence to deploy a career exploration trailer at local events to build interest and provide hands-on experiences related to automotive careers
• Continue presentations to high school automotive students and participation in career and college fairs throughout the state
• Continue social media engagement to drive traffic to carcareers.org
• Begin fundraising necessary to sustain the campaign into the future
Sjolseth added, “It’s going to take the work of the entire industry to keep driving our message home and make a bigger impact. The future of each and every automotive business depends on the availability of skilled technicians and other qualified employees. We encourage all members of the industry to put the resources developed by MNCARS to use in their own backyard to advocate and educate target audiences about the bright outlook for automotive service and collision repair careers and jobs in our state.”
The MNCARS initiative is made possible by the generous contributions of industry organizations and companies. Check out www.carcareers.org and visit the About Us page to see a list of sponsors and supporters. Those who are interested in contributing by volunteering their time or financial support should contact the AASP-MN office at 612-623-1110 or judell@aaspmn.org.
[…] The Minnesota Careers in Auto Repair and Service initiative has reached more than 150,000 with its message promoting mechanical and collision repair careers, co-founder AASP-MN announced last week. […]
I agree with your point of view, your article has given me a lot of help and benefited me a lot. Thanks. Hope you continue to write such excellent articles.
Cool. I spent a long time looking for relevant content and found that your article gave me new ideas, which is very helpful for my research. I think my thesis can be completed more smoothly. Thank you.
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
The point of view of your article has taught me a lot, and I already know how to improve the paper on gate.oi, thank you.
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you. https://www.binance.com/ur/register?ref=V2H9AFPY
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks! https://www.binance.com/uk-UA/register?ref=OMM3XK51
The point of view of your article has taught me a lot, and I already know how to improve the paper on gate.oi, thank you. https://www.gate.io/vi/signup/XwNAU
I have read your article carefully and I agree with you very much. This has provided a great help for my thesis writing, and I will seriously improve it. However, I don’t know much about a certain place. Can you help me? https://www.gate.io/zh/signup/XwNAU
Reading your article helped me a lot and I agree with you. But I still have some doubts, can you clarify for me? I’ll keep an eye out for your answers.