Icahn Automotive Group LLC, which owns and operates Pep Boys, AAMCO and Precision Tune Auto Care, is celebrating the opening of five remodeled classrooms at Lincoln Technical Institute’s (Lincoln Tech) Mahwah and Union, New Jersey, campuses with designs that incorporate images of the well-known service brands and feature inspiring messages and wall graphics such as “Find the tools you need,” “Find your own path” and “Find out how far you can go.”
These classrooms are a critical part of the larger, national “Race to 2026” program that was designed to invest in and support promising future automotive technicians. The initiative encourages more men and women to pursue viable careers in the skilled trades by partnering with technical training schools and offering scholarships, tuition reimbursement, apprenticeship and internship programs, job placement and continuing education opportunities. To celebrate the partnerships, Lincoln Tech automotive technology students Jeremy Pedersen (Union campus), Sebestian Tassey (Union), Frank Van Althuis (Mahwah campus) and Joseph Chin (Mahwah) were each presented with a $2,500 scholarship from Icahn Automotive.
“We’re bringing the ‘Race to 2026’ program to Metro New York where the demand is strong for automotive service and good technicians,” said Icahn Automotive President of Service Brian Kaner. “Our partnership with Lincoln Tech goes back many years, and we’ve put hundreds of skilled graduates to work in our shops. We look forward to continuing to partner with them to encourage students to become auto techs and provide them with a promising career path.”
Icahn Automotive has nearly 100 Pep Boys and AAMCO locations in Metro New York and immediate openings for automotive service technicians of all levels. The need is reflective of the skills gap that exists in the automotive industry nationally.
Once a technician joins an Icahn Automotive business, they can take advantage of benefits such as tuition assistance, an apprenticeship program and company-sponsored certifications. The company also offers a scholarship program that will award 12 scholarships to full- or part-time students enrolled in an automotive technician degree and/or certification program at a high school, college or trade school. Recipients will be announced later in June 2019.
