BMW Donates a 2005 BMW 325i to the Union County Career and Technical School for Automotive Technical Training
Donation Ceremony on September 27 at 10:00 a.m.




The BMW Performance Center which is based in Spartanburg, SC will donate a 2005 BMW 325i to the Union County Career and Technical School to be used as an educational resource for area high school students interested in pursuing careers as automotive service technicians.

Dan Doot, technical manager at the BMW Performance Center will officially present the vehicle to students enrolled in the Automotive Technology and Automotive Body and Collision classes at Union County Career and Technical School located at 1165 Lakeside Drive in Union on Wednesday, September 27 at 10:00 a.m.

"With this donation, students will have the opportunity to cultivate diagnostic and computer skills while working on one of the most technologically advanced automobiles in the industry," said Doot. "BMW is committed to helping to educate tomorrow's auto technicians by giving them the tools needed to succeed in the automotive industry."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 35,000 new auto technicians will be needed nationwide each year through 2010 as automakers increase production of new vehicles and older technicians enter retirement. The Department of Labor's 2006-2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook also predicts an abundance of opportunities for automotive service technicians with diagnostic and problem-solving skills, knowledge of electronics and mathematics, and mechanical aptitude, as cars becoming increasingly more hi-tech. BMW addresses these needs through its various technical training programs and community outreach efforts through technical and vocational schools.

Robert Sellers, director of the Union County Career and Technical Center expressed gratitude for the potential opportunities a donation of this caliber will bring to students at the career center saying, "The ability to train our aspiring technicians on a state of the art automobile will give them the skills and confidence they will need to compete in the automotive technician job market. We are thankful to BMW of North America, the BMW Performance Center and Mr. Doot for showing continued support to the young people of Union County."

B.T. Martin, education associate at the office of career and technology education at The South Carolina Department of Education adds, "With continued support from auto manufacturers such as BMW we will be able to produce the technicians of the future."

To keep with the pace with the need for highly skilled service technicians, in 1996 BMW established an advanced program called STEP for Service Technician Education program to address the shortage of automotive service technicians. In the last ten years alone, more than 2,000 technicians have completed the intensive training program and have been placed in rewarding and satisfying careers.