Grimes School students learn about Ford's Automotive Career Exploration Program at MVHS
Grimes School students visited the auditorium for a presentation of an expanding partnership between Ford Motor Company and the Mount Vernon City School District. Earle Mitchell, technical placement specialist for Ford, visited the school on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, and shared opportunities that will be available for Grimes students.
The Automotive Program at MVHS has been continuously growing through Ford’s Automotive Career Exploration (ACE) Program. Now, Grimes School students are being prepared to enter the program. While they cannot work on Ford’s automotive modules that are available in high school, they are going to enter ninth grade with knowledge about the program to make an informed decision about joining it.
“Planting early seeds is the key to future career success,” said Director of CTE Brian Simmons. “The CTE Department is thrilled to be opening the doors to our middle school students to introduce them to the incredible opportunities waiting for them in the Automotive Program and with our other CTE programs.”
Mr. Mitchell described Ford’s ACE Program to the students and explained why it is so important for the automotive industry to attract young employees. One reason being an aging workforce. Through the ACE Program, Ford is directly preparing students to start a well-paying career at their company.
Students asked questions about the automotive industry, Ford Motor Company and what types of careers are available.
“I want students to develop a vision of what their future is going to look like 10 years, 15 years from now,” said Grimes Principal Dr. Severin Cornelius. “I think it’s important to give them a multitude of opportunities that can drive them and give them a way to build generational wealth in their own families down the road. There were a lot of questions that were asked by the kids, and they were really interested in learning about the automotive industry on every level.”
Ford also has partnerships with Rockland Community College and Universal Technical Institute, who both have automotive programs. Students in the ACE Program have access to those colleges through the partnership to further their automotive education.
“In having a relationship with Mount Vernon High School, we recognized that we wanted to go a little bit deeper in terms of not just interacting with the high school but seeing if we could reach down into the middle schools as well,” said Mr. Mitchell. “We can actually have a pipeline from all of the high schools, as well as middle schools starting with Grimes. We can create this pipeline to assist Ford to get the best talent.”
Grimes School students will soon have the opportunity to visit the MVHS auto shop, view the work that is being done and engage with students that are currently in the program.