FOUNDATION GIVING
EDUCATION/JOB READINESS In the U.S., we continue to experience a worsening shortfall of auto technicians. In fact, a study by TechForce Foundation found that the country will be short about 642,000 automotive, diesel and collision technicians by 2024 if current trends continue. The shortage poses challenges to repair shops in recruiting and retaining qualified auto care technicians and it impacts the overall health of the auto care industry. To aid in this obstacle, the Advance Auto Parts Foundation invested in auto technician programs in key markets to help reverse the troubling trends. This included Wake Technical Community College (N.C.) where we are in our second year of funding diversity recruitment and scholarships for students for the school’s auto repair and collision degree programs. This past spring, the first five students selected for scholarships – there will be a total of 25 over five years – began their first year of classes adding to the diversity of our program and eventually adding to the diversity of the area’s labor pool. Our support in this area also included a recent $300,000 gift paid over two years to Broward College’s
(FL) automotive technology program to fund recruitment, scholarships, staff development and much-needed tools and capital improvements.
The Foundation also continued our legacy O. Temple Sloan, Jr. Founder’s Scholarship Program, which began in 2002 and benefits the dependents of Advance team members who wish to continue their education beyond high school. For the school year 2022-2023, nearly $150,000 in scholarships was awarded to new and continuing students enrolled in full- time or part-time study at a two-year or four-year college or university or in an accredited program that trains students for employment in an occupation.
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2022 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL REPORT | 50
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