Nonprofit fills auto technician shortfall with former inmates

0

The Vehicles for Change class was immediately hands-on, King said, who relished the camaraderie between the instructors and students.

“You are never doing anything by yourself, and there is never anyone telling you, ‘You can’t do it,’ ” she said.

When she graduated, the program let her keep her tool kit and sold her a car. Vehicles for Change charges $950 for a used vehicle; recipients receive a 12-month, 7 percent loan guaranteed by the organization.

King now works as a service technician at Bob Davidson Ford-Lincoln in Baltimore.

“I got a job I really want to do and my first car through Vehicles for Change — all in the same breath,” she said.

Bob Davidson Ford-Lincoln employs four program graduates, said Service Manager Chris Maloney. He welcomes the additional source of technicians.

“We have had a tech shortage in this industry for about five years, and we have really felt it since the pandemic,” he said.

Program graduates are always well-prepared for a job interview and know what to expect in terms of an offer letter and starting pay, Maloney said. They also know how to work as part of a team in a repair shop.

“This is the best program out there, and I can’t say enough good things about it,” he said.

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TechnoCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a comment