“The automotive and collision repair industries need more young people to choose this career path, but no one wants to repair cars anymore!”

If you’ve been involved in this field for any length of time, you’ve surely heard some variation of this complaint, and though there are a multitude of organizations around the country lending their support to this growing dilemma in hopes of alleviating the workforce shortage shops are facing, the majority of these efforts focus the high school and college age groups. But by the time students have reached this stage in their education, many already have a clear vision of what their futures look like!

So, what’s the alternative? Reach them when they’re younger!

In late 2024, AASPMN and Minnesota Careers in Auto Repair and Service (MNCARS) launched a $50,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) Scholarship Program in partnership with Infento and H2I Group, helping to fund the installation of innovative STEM construction kits in schools throughout Minnesota. Ten schools benefitted from this program in 2025, but the truly exciting aspect is that these kits are inspiring consideration of an automotive career in children at younger ages than ever before!

Alexandra Jones utilizes the Infento Pro Kit in her fifth and sixth grade science classes at Bold Middle School (Olivia). “I incorporated the lessons learning about technology and engineering,” she explains. “All of my students have enjoyed using the kits and working together to build different things. Each student was given a job – whether it was putting things together or finding the right pieces to correctly complete the project. My students who used them last year are already asking when we will be building one of the larger pieces. My new fifth grade students are also eager to get started because they saw the students from last year testing out the scooters they built and rode in the school hallways.”

It’s pretty electrifying (pun intended) to envision 10-year-olds experimenting in the automotive world, but this initiative is reaching students who are even younger! Melissa Pedersen teaches second grade – YES, that means seven and eight year olds! – at Weaver Lake Elementary in Maple Grove.

“I use these bikes in connection with Minnesota’s second grade standards around force and motion,” she shares. Students use the Pro Kits to explore phenomena and engineering problems, being given ample opportunity to ask questions about their observations and the object’s motion before investigating how it works and analyzing the empirical evidence to better understand it. The study of physical science is incorporated as students “identify and predict quantitative patterns of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.” The project also incorporates mathematics to “represent physical variations and their relationships,” comparing their calculations to real-world expressions. 

“My students are very engaged with these bikes,” Pedersen reports. “I have designed the lessons so that one second grade class puts together half of the bike and then another class continues where they left off in order to finish the bikes in two days. We do these bike builds as an in-house field trip. Students build bikes all day with breaks for their lunch/recess and specialists’ classes. It really helped these younger students stay in the mindset of building bikes so that they were able to get farther along in the build process. There was also less set up and clean up. Once the bikes are built (though I often need to finish up a few), students come back to ride the bikes. We only build the bike called Caterpillar, because it fits the ability level of the students and also the visual of unbalanced and balanced forces while riding the bike.”

Other participating schools target an older audience, demonstrating the diversity of the Pro Kit, and AASPMN and MNCARS’ scholarship program accounts for that by providing training for teachers to equip them with the tools and resources needed to guide students through hands-on projects that align with industry standards and workforce needs. By providing teachers with the necessary knowledge and support, the program aims to ensure that students receive high-quality instruction that prepares them for future careers in the automotive industry.

“The educational uses of the Pro Kits are wildly flexible, so they can be implemented for any age group and apply to just about any subject,” AASPMN Executive Director Linden Wicklund says, crediting H2I Group for providing step-by-step instructions that aid teachers in applying the curriculum to their programs. 

“We are dedicated to creating inspiring learning environments that prepare students for the future of  work,” says Nate Thiesfeld, executive vice president of H2I Group. “This program aligns perfectly with our mission, and we are proud to contribute our expertise in delivering the infrastructure and resources to support Infento’s innovative approach to education. By ensuring that schools have the appropriate facilities and equipment, we can foster an engaging and stimulating learning experience that ignites a lifelong passion for STEM and paves the way for successful careers in the automotive industry.”

Those efforts have gone a long way in helping instructors incorporate the Pro Kits into their curriculum. “It is not too difficult to teach the curriculum due to having upper elementary students,” Jones insists. “They are really great with problem solving and helping each other even if they are not in the same group. It does get tricky when some groups fall behind with the time limit I have in place for them.”

But as the students’ age decreases, the difficulty increases. Fortunately, teachers are equipped with problem-solving strategies themselves. “These bikes were quite difficult to use at the elementary level,” Pedersen admits, but she found a solution. “In order to help the students be successful, I modified the instructions. I went through and leveled the directions with more information so that the materials were easier to find. I labeled the many bins and then marked on the instructions where to find that piece and what it was called. That way, students did not spend their time searching for the right part. I have also color-coded the bins, so students continue to go to the bins that they are using. That way, there is a better chance that the students are not using other groups’ materials.”

And those materials are pretty impressive! The Pro Kits include real tools and materials for students to use. “The quality of the tools and supplies provided are overall really great,” Jones praises. “We have had some things break due to pieces getting stuck due to not correctly following directions, but we have learned to slow down and look at each piece with better observation skills.”

“The quality of the materials is great!” Pedersen agrees. “I love that it can withstand mistakes and can be modified quickly. I was also told during my orientation that the materials are things that can be  found at any hardware store, which is wonderful since it is very easy to lose things while in a school setting; however, we have done a great job keeping track of our materials so far.”

Wicklund particularly appreciates the high-quality tools and materials since it means “the kits will be useful for many years once a school has them.”

“Infento’s EV Pro Kits are powerful tools for schools to help support their students in developing the skills that are essential for the future of the automotive industry,” Max Ringelheim, Infento head of operations believes. “By engaging students in hands-on learning, we can inspire a new generation of engineers, technicians and innovators who are passionate about electric vehicles and their potential to shape the future of transportation. Through our kits, students can develop critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration skills, which are invaluable in any industry, particularly in the rapidly-evolving world of automotive technology.”

Wicklund is most impressed by the kits’ ability to reach a broader audience of potential future automotive and collision professionals. “By the time a student reaches high school, they are self-selecting into programs, but with the Pro Kits being utilized by younger students, we have the opportunity to excite and engage a wider array of children who likely haven’t settled on a future career and may have never considered an automotive career without this exposure. 

“When we get these items in students’ hands, they start thinking about building things and will hopefully consider an automotive career path,” she continues. “And by reaching them at a younger age – before there’s gender or socio-economic bias – we have a chance to diversify and expand our industry’s future workforce!”

Funding still remains to equip another dozen elementary and middle schools with the Infento Pro Kits, but Wicklund hopes to expand the program even further through support from automotive and collision shops. Email linden@aaspmn.org for more information about how your shop can connect with and support a local school to help make pathways to a future industry career feel more accessible.

Learn more about MNCARS and its efforts at carcareers.org.