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Students at the Automotive Business School of Canada (ABSC) had a chance to learn about exciting new developments in automotive technology and network with prospective employers at the AIA Canada Student Aftermarket Day held recently in Barrie, Ont.
It was the 9th annual event organized by the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) and the ABSC and it’s aimed at helping students learn up-do-date information from experts while building their network of contacts within the industry.
“Encouraging young leaders is important,” says Doug Reevey, President of Autotec Inc. and chair of the AIA Board of Directors in his opening remarks. “I encourage you to take this opportunity today to network, and start the process of identifying a mentor or contacts that can help you with your career. Developing the ability to network is essential to your learning and growth.”
ABSC students attend a variety of industry events during their studies, which exposes them to career opportunities in the OEM world, the dealership world — and at events like this one — the aftermarket industry.
Employers set up booths, and talked about opportunities with their companies with the students during several organized networking sessions.
It’s all part of an ongoing effort by industry stakeholders to identify and attract the brightest lights from the program that grooms the next generation of auto industry talent to their companies and industry sector.
During his address, Reevey delivered a pitch for the aftermarket, telling them it was a dynamic $21 billion dollar industry in Canada that employed more than 420,000 people.
He explained to them that the aftermarket industry consists of a broad range of companies that manufacture, distribute and install automotive replacement parts, accessories, tools and equipment. The types of companies involved consists of suppliers, retailers, warehouse distributors, national distributors, buying groups, wholesalers, service and repair retailers and collision shops.
Keynote speaker Dr. Peter Frise, a professor of Automotive Engineering at the University of Windsor, and the former Scientific Director and CEO of AUTO21, delivered an entertaining and engaging look at developments in automotive technology.
Frise also urged students to use the opportunity to network and meet with the exhibitors and association leaders at the event. “You can be their future employees, that’s why they are here,” says Frise.
Frise said it’s easy to get caught up on the hype when a new vehicle technology is introduced and say that “everyone has it.” But the reality is quite different. He says the average age of a vehicle in North America is somewhere between 10 and 11 years. So, to fully change all the vehicles over to a new technology that is just available today could take as long as 15-20 years. “It takes a long, long time for a new piece of technology to get going in the marketplace,” says Frise.
Frise says the industry has to concern itself with making cars people will buy — and can afford to buy — and that’s what drives the product development roadmap.
Despite the hype about emerging vehicle technologies, he says the manufacturers still continue to invest billions of dollars in research and production on improving their internal combustion engines. “The future of the gasoline driven car is, in my view, not over yet,” says Frise.
Frise took students through the impact of autonomous vehicles and changing ownership models. He predicts fully autonomous vehicles will take a lot longer to come to market than people might expect.
Two groups of students also delivered presentations of their own, providing their detailed research and perspectives on the impact of autonomous vehicles on society at large, and on the aftermarket industry in particular.
Students that Canadian auto dealer talked with said they were surprised to learn about how big the industry was and how many opportunities there were, particularly entrepreneurial opportunities.
