NPC Automotive Awarded $12K State Grant

Jennifer Lyons and Jason Armitage recieving grant from Governor Asa Hutchinson.National Park College (NPC) Automotive Technology program was awarded a $12,989 Education and Training grant from the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission last month.

The grant assists institutions that offer education and training in the field of vehicle service and maintenance to improve training programs with the goal of growing the available workforce for the future. The grant will be used to purchase new equipment that has been requested by local industry partners to educate NPC’s high school and college level students. These items include a scope kit with a laptop, diagnostic tools, and a transmission fluid exchanger that will allow for hands-on training in key automotive concepts.

“Receiving this grant will allow the Automotive Service Technology students to train with the latest high tech equipment,” said Automotive Technology instructor Jason Armitage. “This will allow them to transition into the field faster and fill the many requests we have to supply technicians. The jobs are available; we just need the qualified students to fill them.”

Technical and Professional Division Chair, Jennifer Lyons said she was encouraged by the collaboration with the local automotive industry. “When industry and education work together, the end result is always a better experience for our students. Our goal is for them to graduate and be ready for employment and this type of cooperation makes that possible,” she said.