Automotive Training Institute’s (ATI) SuperConference 2021 attendees raised $60,000 for the Santa Monica-based, mikeroweWORKS Foundation – a charitable organization that helps to contribute millions of dollars in work ethic scholarships to qualified recipients pursuing a career in the skilled trades, including the automotive industry.
The mikeroweWORKS Foundation is headed by Mike Rowe, best known as the creator and host of the iconic TV series Dirty Jobs.
“No matter how quickly the world changes, the qualities of successful individuals are still the same,” said Rowe. “The principles of hard work, determination and respect for others are always in demand and a big part of our Work Ethic Scholarship Program. I’m grateful to ATI for their generous support of this program.”
ATI, which recently announced new technician training programs, shares the mikeroweWORKS Foundation’s mission to help close the skills gap by challenging the stigmas and stereotypes that discourage people from pursuing the millions of available positions in the trades.
“We interviewed dozens of charities based near our latest SuperConference venue,” said ATI president Richard Menneg. “The mikeroweWORKS Foundation stood out the most because it addresses a growing problem afflicting our members and the industry– the tech labor shortage.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, our industry employs 750,000 service technicians. Just to keep pace with retirement and new jobs in this sector, we need to replace approximately 76,000 technicians each year. America’s technical colleges and training programs graduate about 37,000 new technicians a year. This leaves an annual shortage of approximately 39,000 technicians. The mikeroweWORKS programs helps prepare young workers to fill this gap.
To learn more about the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, visit www.mikeroweworks.org.
