Financial support expands pathways to
employment, advances careers and skill sets, and helps build
greater representation of underserved people in
manufacturing
ST. CLOUD, Minn., Jan. 27, 2021 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer of
America Inc. ("New Flyer"), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"),
one of the world's leading independent global bus manufacturers,
today announced the launch of Accelerate Anniston™, a scholarship
and educational incentive program providing financial support to
deserving recipients in the Anniston,
Alabama region to continue educational studies.
A total of $25,000 is available,
including scholarships and grants for school instructors to
redesign curriculum as required. Eligible trades or areas of study
include electrical, electronics, welding, production control,
painting, computerized machinery, and more. Applications for
Accelerate Anniston™ will open in spring of 2021, when further
detail regarding applications will come available.
Accelerate Anniston™ is one of several initiatives coming to
life within the Anniston Workforce Development Program ("AWDP"), a
local program announced in September
2020 and launched under New Flyer's Community Benefits
Framework ("CBF"), a national workforce development initiative
introduced by New Flyer and its partner the Transportation
Diversity Council ("TDC") earlier in 2020. Those eligible for
Accelerate Anniston With New Flyer include those identifying as
underserved, underrepresented, or disadvantaged individuals,
encompassing:
- Candidates from the greater Anniston community who qualify for
employment,
- Recent high school graduates (over 18 years) with requisite
skills, qualifying them for employment, and
- Current New Flyer employees looking to improve skills and
advance their career
Under the AWDP, partnerships with community-based organizations
("CBOs") such as the Anniston
School District and Calhoun County Career Academy will help
identify deserving recipients of scholarship stipends and education
development incentive grants. The grants will be used to support
alignment of various school technical curricula with skill
sets needed on the production floor, to support greater
representation of underserved individuals in advanced
manufacturing.
Scholarship applications, assessments, and disbursement will be
managed by the TDC, New Flyer's ongoing partner in workforce
development and a critical contributor to AWDP development.
"Since welcoming the Anniston
team to New Flyer in 2013, we have steadily moved forward with new
and enhanced programs, investments in workforce development and
technology, and continued focus on diversity and inclusion," said
Chris Stoddart, President, New Flyer
and MCI. "The Accelerate Anniston scholarship and educational
incentive program, coming to life under our AWDP, is critical to
the success of advancing inclusion and representation in
manufacturing. We are proud to support underserved,
underrepresented, and disadvantaged individuals in reaching their
educational and career pursuits, and to seeing them join and
accelerate through the ranks at New Flyer."
"We have moved quickly since introducing the AWDP alongside New
Flyer," said Dwayne Sampson, Founder
and President of TDC. "This kind of initiative – this financial
support – is critical for those facing systemic barriers and
needing help to overcome them on the journey to fulfilling careers.
It's a new day in America and for workforce development. New Flyer
has recognized this, and also recognized how to provide solutions
to barriers while continuing to invest in the community, to ensure
all people have the opportunity to succeed in manufacturing and the
new mobility era."
Local programs under the CBF are comprised of commitments,
initiatives, and partnerships shaped by and tailored to a specific
community with its participation. Using this approach, program
benefits are localized to and inclusive of the unique needs,
cultures, and characteristics of a community's citizens, including
its underrepresented, underserved, and disadvantaged people.
As a result of the AWDP, New Flyer has strengthened its local
community outreach and recruitment capacity, committing to the
placement of groups of people not traditionally employed in the
manufacturing industry, including those considered
underrepresented, underserved, and/or disadvantaged individuals.
This also includes commitments on wages and benefits, working with
community-based organizations on recruitment, delivering intensive
on-the-job and classroom training, and supporting
pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.
For information on Accelerate Anniston and the CBF,
visit newflyer.com/CBF, and for information about
Transportation Diversity Council, visit tdc-ntl.org.
New Flyer has been leading innovation in mobility for 90 years,
and today supports growing North American cities with sustainable
buses, technology, and infrastructure. It also operates the Vehicle
Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind
dedicated to advancing bus and motor coach technology and providing
essential workforce development through electric bus training, now
available online. New Flyer is testing automated vehicle technology
and remains committed to the development of technology standards
that deliver safe, clean, sustainable, connected mobility options
to communities.
About NFI
Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the
electrification of mass mobility around the world. With
zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology,
NFI meets today's urban demands for scalable smart mobility
solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through
connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.
With 8,000 team members in ten countries, NFI is a leading
global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands
New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI®
(motor coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck
buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor
cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI currently
offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available,
including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell),
natural gas, electric hybrid, and clean diesel. In total, NFI
supports its installed base of over 105,000 buses and coaches
around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information is available at
www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com,
www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.
About New Flyer
New Flyer is North America's
heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product
line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. It
also offers infrastructure development through New Flyer
Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe,
sustainable, and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New
Flyer actively supports over 35,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New
Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 8,600 are
powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are
zero-emission. Further information is available at
www.newflyer.com.
SOURCE New Flyer of America Inc.