AEMP Foundation Awards Eight Scholarships

September 17, 2008 • The Association of Equipment Management Professionals Foundation has awarded eight two-year scholarships to students planning to enter the heavy equipment technician profession. Scholarship recipients were selected from a pool of applicants.

“The presentation of these scholarships reflects a new milestone for the Foundation and demonstrates its commitment to solving the critical shortage of qualified technicians in the industry,” said AEMP Foundation Chairman Bob Decker of Ace Asphalt in Phoenix.

 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the United States currently employs 1,067,441 auto, truck and diesel engine technicians. Currently, there are about 32,000 new technician job openings annually and estimates call for that to increase by 6,000 each year for the next five years, bringing demand to 38,000 annually. By 2012, BLS projects annual demand for technicians will reach 101,184, an increase of 12.4 percent.

 

“We are only limited in awarding scholarships by the funds required to provide them,” said Foundation Executive Director Stan Orr, CAE. “For as little as $2,500, a company can fund a student for two years. Our goal is to have dozens of students in the program at any given time.”

 

This year, scholarships were awarded to:

• Charles Campbell of Flat Rock, Ill., attending Wabash Valley College in Mt Carmel, Ill.
• Jason Griffin of Vershire, Vt., attending Universal Technical Institute in Norwood, Maine
• Klayt Kinyon of Lewiston, Idaho, attending Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho
• Scott Wilbur of Delhi, N.Y., attending the University of Northwestern Ohio in Lima, Ohio
• Jacob Heldt of Cynthiana, Ind., attending Wabash Valley College in Mt Carmel, Ill.
• Michell Colyer of Fairfield, Ill., attending Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill.
• Jason Louimar of Des Moines, Iowa, attending Universal Technical Institute in Sacramento, Calif.
• Don Warren of Hardin, Mont., attending Wyotech Advance Diesel in Laramie, Wyo.

The AEMP Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that was formed by AEMP to advance the asset management profession and those who work in the heavy equipment industry. The Foundation annually awards scholarships to students entering the heavy equipment technician profession. For more information on the Foundation and its programs, contact Stan Orr at stan@aemp.org.