Notable Champions of Diversity

For years, the marketing department at the Automotive Business School of Canada (ABSC) has made common practice of using its own classrooms and students in print and digital ads designed to attract the next generation of automotive professionals to the industry.

But after a thoughtful look at the material it had been producing, it became clear, said Joe Lauzon, the marketing officer for the department, the depictions of students were not representative of the diverse cross-section of Canadians the school was looking to attract.

“We saw the struggle the industry was having even within our classrooms.”

That realization, Lauzon said, prompted an immediate rethink of how the school was marketing itself, and a series of initiatives to deepen its ties to communities that the auto management school, as well as the wider auto industry, have been working to reach.

“[Diversity] has always been something that we’ve looked at. I would say in the last three, four years, we’ve put a more tangible approach to it, making sure that it’s tied into our strategic plan at ABSC.”

A part of Georgian College in Barrie, Ont., ABSC offers diploma and degree programs to students working toward management roles in the auto sector, as well as corporate training for those already in the industry who are working to expand their skill sets.

Backed by management, Lauzon, who takes the lead on marketing at ABSC, has been the driving force behind the focus on representative advertising. But it is only one aspect of how he and the team at ABSC are retooling the school’s outreach to encourage those in underrepresented groups to consider automotive.

In collaboration with industry partners, such as Hyundai Canada and Accelerate Auto, ABSC has launched a series of digital and live events, and arranged visits to high schools in communities where students often do not see automotive as a viable career path.

“Not only did we get results from those events, but we’ve built partnerships with the school boards across the country and found key advocates within the school boards that are looking to achieve the same goals we are.”

The focus on representation and direct community outreach are showing results, Lauzon said.

“We’ve seen a big intake of specifically Black and Indigenous students, and a smaller intake increase in women. We’ve always had about 10 per cent women. Over the past few years, we’ve started to see that climb closer to 15 per cent.”

Lauzon plans to continue to build on the series of partnerships and marketing initiatives to diversify the classrooms at ABSC, and the industry itself. Ultimately, he said, more diverse thought will extend to the board room level, helping the next-generation workforce better serve vehicle buyers.

“I think slowly we will see [the industry] become more and more diverse, and hopefully represent the diversity that we see in Canadian society.”