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.