Closing the Skills Gap in Transportation Pathways

The nationwide talent shortage is real, and many industries, such as construction, manufacturing, technology, and transportation are hiring previously untapped sources of talent. Yet, these same industries also recognize that a more comprehensive strategy is needed, and that starts by exposing female students to nontraditional careers. This exposure earlier in their education can open their minds to all possibilities, thus bringing more students through the education-to-career pipeline.

Just ask Brent Kindred, Vice President of the Foundation of the Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association (WATDA), the charitable and educational arm for new and used dealerships in Wisconsin. “Fewer students over the years have pursued a technician career [in automotive, collision, and diesel], and dealerships are reporting increasingly shallow application pools for most positions,” says Kindred. “If the industry is going to solve the talent gap issue, gender equity has to be a top priority.”

The Foundation’s work has been rooted in helping young people pursue high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand transportation technician career pathways since its founding. Then, in 2020, the organization made a strategic decision to prioritize support for gender equity across all of its work, including teacher training, summer camps, competitive events, and scholarships.

“The most vital of these is training for teachers,” says Kindred. The Foundation hosts two in-person teacher professional development events: one in the spring and a multiday event in the summer. These events offer the up-to-date knowledge teachers need to stay current, such as the latest advancements, and through presentations by manufacturer representatives and industry education leaders in the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) world.

The Annual Summer Teacher Training Institute features sessions on increasing gender equity in classrooms and the industry as a whole. At the 2023 Summer Institute, for example, the Foundation hosted an all-female student panel discussion, including two pursuing college in collision repair, and one pursuing college in automotive. In addition, the panel discussion was moderated by Tara Topel, the 2021 Female Shop Owner of the Year award winner, a national award from the Auto Care Association. The panel discussion gave teachers the opportunity to hear directly from female students about what influenced them to choose transportation and what teachers could do differently or better in their classrooms and communities to encourage more female participation.

The Foundation provides opportunities for students to compete at the SkillsUSA State Automotive Championships, the largest student transportation competitive event in Wisconsin. And the organization’s Nitro-X middle school summer camps, where students as young as 11 years old are immersed in a week-long transportation experience.

The Foundation scholarship program is a key barometer for the impact of all these efforts. Since 2020, the number of girls winning Foundation scholarships has doubled and now accounts for 12.2 percent of all scholarships. That number is expected to increase moving forward.

“Never stop working on equity,” says Kindred. “This work is systemic and is now woven into the fabric of The Foundation. It is that important to the entire industry.”