BETHESDA, Md. — The Auto Care Association is gearing up to select its fifth annual “Head of the Class Award” recipients, to honor auto care industry companies that continually invest in employee education and training. The award was created in 2011 and is administered by the Auto Care Association Education Committee on behalf of the association.
“This award is an opportunity to recognize companies for their commitment in providing opportunities for employees to increase employee knowledge and improve skill-building, enabling them to grow both professionally and personally,” said Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO, Auto Care Association. “As employees grow in their roles and within the company, this in turn contributes to the success of the company. We are delighted to showcase these companies who can serve as examples for other auto care industry companies to follow.”
For 2015, the award categories will change from supply channel categories to total number of employees; there will be three awards.
“As word of this popular award has spread, the committee has received applications from a number of different industry categories, which meant that more awards were given each year,” said Susan Kalish, senior director, education, Auto Care Association. “The committee decided on a plan to present a consistent number of awards annually.”
To apply, applicants must include information directly related to the education and training practices of their company, including what prompted the company to invest in training, training for job competency vs. education for personal growth, the types of training accomplished, the initial goals, their experiences, results of the training and any future plans. Companies are asked to describe their experience in essay form as well as respond to general questions about the program.
Applications are due by Friday, April 17, 2015, and winning companies will be notified in May. Winners will be selected by the Auto Care Education Committee, and then recognized during Fall Leadership Days 2015 in Austin, Texas and at AAPEX 2015 in Las Vegas, Nev. Winning companies will also be featured in several Auto Care Insider publications throughout the 2015-2016 year.
Application forms and full submission requirements are available at http://www.autocare.org/headoftheclass. Please fax or email the nomination form and supplementary documents to Susan Kalish at 301-654-3299 or [email protected]. For more information, call 301-654-6664.
