BMW of North America Supports Automotive Youth Education

Corporation's Eastern Region Headquarters Provides Learning Laboratory For Students

Woodcliff Lake, NJ, August 4, 2008 -- Passaic County Technical Institute students got a glimpse of their future with the donation of a BMW 745i which will be used as a state of the art automotive teaching tool. The students are members of Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES), a nationwide partnership among automotive manufacturers, participating dealers, and selected high/prep schools. This event was highlighted when Passaic County Technical Institute received the vehicle Thursday, July 31, 2008 donated by BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) to the school at 11:00AM.

Gene Donnelly, Vice President for the Eastern Region of BMW North America, LLC stated that “It is essential that we continue to use opportunities like this to reach out to the technicians of the future and excite them about the many possibilities available with a career in the automobile industry. The technology in the cars today is advancing so rapidly that we need the best and the brightest to consider a career in our industry”.

The donation ceremony was held at the school (45 Reinhardt Rd., Wayne, NJ). Gene Donnelly presented the BMW 745i vehicle to be used as a “four-wheeled educational laboratory”. Passaic County Technical Institute’s Chief School Administrator, Diana Lobosco, accepted the car on behalf of Passaic County Technical Institute’s AYES-affiliated program Automotive Technology Program which will also benefit from the BMW curriculum offered at the high school. Other senior administrators of Passaic County Technical Institute’s Board of Education also attended the Donation Ceremony.

“We are truly excited and thankful to BMW NA, LLC for providing Passaic County Technical Institute with a new lab vehicle,” said Larry Cummings, AYES President. “With the ongoing commitment and dedication from our OEM partners, our AYES Program will continue to be the first step in a long term solution to developing quality entry level technicians.”

In addition to BMW's collaboration with Passaic County Technical Institute and other AYES Programs across the state of New Jersey and the United States, BMW has actively developed programs to train service technicians. In 1986, as part of its ongoing commitment to educating the next generation of automotive technicians, BMW initiated the STEP (Service Technician Education Program) program to keep pace with the need for highly skilled service technicians. STEP has since graduated more than 2,000 technicians from its eight regional training facilities throughout the U.S.

With more than 2 million BMWs on the road today, and new vehicle sales expected to reach 300,000 annually in the next few years, the need for highly skilled technicians to diagnose and repair these increasingly sophisticated automobiles continues to escalate. In fact, the acute shortage of qualified service technicians is a growing challenge for all automakers and dealers nationwide.

A great deal of career opportunity exists in the automotive services industry. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an estimated 35,000 new automotive technician jobs are need each year through 2010.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 models, X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 82 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Automotive Youth Educational Systems, Inc.
Automotive Youth Educational Systems, Inc. (AYES) is a partnership among participating automotive manufacturers, the National Automobile Dealers Association, Automotive Trade Association Executives, State Departments of Education and Labor, local dealerships and select high schools across the country. AYES’ goal is to encourage quality students with a good mechanical aptitude to pursue careers in the fields of automotive technology and prepare them for entry-level positions in dealerships.

Source: BMW

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