The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) announced that there are 10 career fair events remaining this spring school semester, including ones in Oklahoma City and Denver that will take place in conjunction with those cities’ auto shows. Not only do these auto show events help connect the hundreds of attending students but also showcase the industry to the attending general public. The remaining spring career fair schedule includes:

March 6

• Chicago, Ill. – Donald E. Stephens Convention Center – part of World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 1,200 students anticipated
• Oklahoma City, Okla. – part of Oklahoma Auto Show – 900 students anticipated

March 13

• Salt Lake City, Utah – Mountain America Expo Center (Sandy, Utah) – part of World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 500 students anticipated

March 20

• Boston, Mass. – Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center – part of World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 500 students anticipated

April 2

• New York City – NYADI College of Automotive & Diesel Technology (Jamaica, N.Y.) – 250 students anticipated

April 3

• Denver, Colo. – Colorado Convention Center – part of Denver Auto Show – 300 students anticipated

April 9

• Orlando/Tampa Bay, Fla. – Hillsborough Community College Ybor Training Center (Tampa, Fla.) – 400 students anticipated

April 21

• Atlanta, Ga. – Maxwell High School of Technology (Lawrenceville, Ga.) – 250 students anticipated

April 30

• North and South Carolina – Gateway Conference Center (Richburg, S.C.) – part of Carolinas Collision Association Educational Conference – 200 students anticipated

May 7

• Philadelphia, Pa. – Technical College High School Brandywine Campus (Downington, Pa.) – part of ACE Event – 200 students anticipated

“When the CADA partnered with CREF last year and put the automotive career fair on the Denver Auto Show floor, we gave students who were about to graduate from tech school career options,” said Kim Jackson, marketing and communications director of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association (CADA). “Like any of us, students want a choice in their careers. At the career fair, they got a chance to talk at length with franchised new car dealers and collision repair shops to determine which path was best for them. Our dealers loved the event. One dealer said this was the best way for his team to identify auto tech students. Another dealer hired a couple students on the spot and was the first company to register for the event this year.”

Added Metropolitan Auto Dealers Association (MADA) of Oklahoma City President Peter Hodges, “We are excited to be working together with the Collision Repair Education Foundation to be organizing our first career fair event on the Oklahoma City Auto Show floor and the fact that nearly 900 students are registered for the event is incredible. Both the auto service and collision industry’s are facing the same issue of an aging workforce and need for entry-level staff, so collaborating on this initiative will help introduce students to local and national employers at the event. Having the employers on the show floor when the OKC Auto Show is open to the public also helps showcase the need to attending parents and younger attendees.”

For additional information and/or to register for a career fair event, contact Tiffany Bulak, development and marketing coordinator of CREF, at [email protected].