The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) has announced the return of their high school and college transportation (collision and auto service) career fair events for the upcoming spring 2022 semester.
As CREF is collaborating with other events (auto shows, industry conferences, World of Wheels events), the career fairs are anticipated to bring together over 10,000 students, which will prove to be a great opportunity for industry employers who continue to face an aging workforce and a need for entry-level staff.
“We have hired over 20 students at CREF’s Florida career fairs and found these to be great events to interact with local students,” said Chris Shrewsbury, collision director of Ferman Auto Group. “I encourage industry members to participate in these events so students can see and meet those who are waiting to employ them upon graduation.”
The spring 2022 career fair schedule is as follows:
- Jan. 21 – Pittsburgh – Held in conjunction with Pittsburgh World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 600 students anticipated
- Feb. 4 – North and South Carolina – Held in conjunction with the Carolinas Collision Conference – 400 students anticipated
- March 4 – Oklahoma City – Held in conjunction with the Oklahoma City Auto Show – 600 students anticipated
- March 4 – Detroit – Held in conjunction with the Detroit World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 4,500 students anticipated
- March 11 – Chicago – Held in conjunction with the Chicago World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 1,500 students anticipated
- March 25 – Indianapolis – Held in conjunction with Indianapolis World of Wheels/AutoRama Student Day – 600 students anticipated
- April 8 – Tulsa (Okla.) – Held in conjunction with the Tulsa Auto Show – 500 students anticipated
- April 19 – Atlanta – Maxwell High School of Technology – 200 students anticipated
- April 22 – Austin/ San Antonio (Texas) – Held in conjunction with the Austin Auto Show – 600 students anticipated
- Events TBD: Tampa/Orlando, Miami, Columbus (Ohio), Dallas
To complement the physical career fair events and ensure CREF helps connect students with employers across the country, CREF started an electronic student resume database this fall that already has over 600 collision students’ contact information. Industry members interested in information about the career fairs and/or the student resume database should contact CREF Development and Marketing Coordinator Tiffany Bulak at [email protected].
The Collision Repair Education Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting collision repair educational programs, schools and students to create qualified, entry-level employees and connect them with an array of career opportunities. For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation, visit CollisionEducationFoundation.org.
