NEWS

Mobility job fair highlights next-gen auto careers

Cheryl Harvey, director of WCC’s career transitions office. Lilly Kujawski | Washtenaw Voice

By Kevin Gerych
Staff Writer

WCC will be hosting its first Mobility Job Fair on May 20, which will focus on the advancements and future of automotive technology. The fair will occur from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Mobility is becoming both a product and a service,” said Al Lecz, director of WCC’s Advanced Transportation Center. “Ford Motor Company and General Motors are both saying that they are no longer the manufacturing companies that they used to be; they are now mobility companies.”

The technology is not the only facet of the automotive industry that is rapidly evolving. There is a bigger picture for the future to look at.

“It’s no longer where an employer just needs an automotive student or just needs an IT student,” said Cheryl Harvey, director of WCC’s Career Transitions office. “There’s the blending of the two together to bring together this field called mobility.”

Companies such as Penske, Aerotek and Gerber Collision are confirmed job fair participants, among others.

“We’re aiming for about 20-25 employers to be in attendance,” said David Wildfong, Professional Services Faculty at the Career Transitions office.

The focus of the event is placed on the students, many of whom are getting ready to graduate and enter the wider workforce with their newly acquired skills.

“We are targeting this career fair around graduation so we can target students with these skill sets so they have an opportunity to talk to employers, see what they are looking for and to assess the skills that they have,” said Harvey. “We are really encouraging graduates and students to come out and talk to the employers to really find out what the jobs of the future will look like.”

The job fair is not only open to WCC students, but also the general public.

“We’re also inviting the community out to really see what is going on here in Ann Arbor around this new way of doing business,” said Harvey.

The mobility job fair will take place May 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Morris Lawrence Building.