The car industry is going through a tremendous change these days. People are waiting to see if electric cars or something else will replace the old gas guzzlers. The Chinese, Indian and Brazilian markets are expanding dramatically, and their appetite for private transportation is tremendous.
This means the automotive industry is going to need a lot of new blood to rev up the engines. This just doesn't mean assembly line workers either, but everyone from your garage mechanic to international marketing executives, not forgetting STEM designers and engineers. In fact, the need is so great; many of the biggest players are providing an incredible number of grants and scholarships to help train the next generation.
One of the biggest players in the education field is a prominent American auto company. It set up a series grants and scholarships to educate the next generation of car people. You don't even have to go to school in Dearborn, Michigan to get them!
These programs include the Society of Mechanical Engineers (SME) Ford PAS Scholarship. Each year, it gives three scholarships of $10,000 each to three students who take the car manufacturer's Partnership for Advanced Science nationwide high school program. They must graduate with a 3.0 average and be prepared to commit to a career in automotive/mechanical engineering. Another is the SME/Henry Ford Academy Scholarship, which also provides $10,000 scholarships to students planning two or four-year degrees in the technical end of the automotive industry; a 3.0 average is also required.
For Native Americans, there is the American Indian College Fund, which is open to Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians. It awards $10,000 towards a Bachelor's degree and the Tribal Scholarships, which is limited to Native Americans and provides $5,000. Two other programs target Latin American students. The first is the HSF/Ford Motor Company Scholarship Program. To qualify, a student must graduate high school and enroll in a four-year college. The other is the Hispanic College Fund/Ford Mi Fuerza Scholarships, which just bases its award on merit and need. It awards $2,500 and up to $5,000, respectively.
Another interesting organization is the Automotive Hall of Fame, also located in Michigan. In total, this group hands out over a dozen different scholarships every year, generally not as much as the company mentioned above, but they can add up.
Examples include the Automotive Educational Fund, which hands out 19 scholarships or $2,000 each in and of itself. To qualify, an applicant must have a minimum letter of acceptance to a college or already be enrolled, provide at least two letters of recommendation, and provide an academic transcript. The Larry Averill Memorial provides three scholarships of $1,500 each. Here, one must already be in college and carry a 3.0 grade point average. These two are just the tip of the iceberg of plans the Hall of Fame offers.