Komatsu donates $250,000 to AED Foundation’s Vision 2025 initiative
By Adam Freill
Construction EquipmentProject aims to address technician shortages in the equipment distribution industry in Canada and the U.S.
From left: Dan Stracener, CEO, Tractor & Equipment Company; Ed Kirby, chairman, Kirby-Smith Machinery; Michael Brennan, president and COO, Bramco; Rod Bull, EVP North America Region, Komatsu; Brian McGuire, president and CEO, AED. (Photo courtesy of Komatsu)
Heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu has contributed $250,000 toward the AED Foundation’s Vision 2025 project. The program aims to help to increase the number of qualified technicians entering the equipment distribution industry in light of the dauting skills gap and workforce shortage issues facing OEMs and equipment distributors.
“We recognize the imperative to build a talent pipeline for our distributors and the heavy equipment industry at large,” said Komatsu’s Rod Bull, executive vice-president, North America Region. “Komatsu supports Vision 2025 and its focus on helping schools promote careers in the technical field to young people, who often aren’t aware of the great family-supporting jobs available in this industry. We’re excited to do our part to share this story of opportunity to join an industry that keeps our world growing and sustains our way of life.”
Research by the AED Foundation has found that the industry needs to fill an anticipated 73,500 heavy equipment technician positions over the next five years, and that the technician shortage is compounded by a gap in required skills and available training.
Vision 2025 aims to address these issues by growing the foundation’s impact to include a minimum of 120 accredited college programs (currently 71) and a minimum of 200 recognized high school programs (currently 36) in Canada and the United States. According to the AED Foundation, the project has the potential to create a talent pipeline that would include an additional 10,000 skilled technicians entering the workforce, 5,000 AED Foundation-certified technicians and 500 AED Foundation-certified managers. The organization has a fundraising goal of $10 million over the next five years for the project.
“The AED Foundation is grateful for Komatsu’s leadership and investment in our Vision 2025 campaign,” said AED Foundation president Brian McGuire. “Komatsu’s support, in conjunction with nearly 75 other investors, brings our Vision 2025 campaign to over $6 million. These investments provide the Foundation the sustainability needed to continue to be the heavy equipment industry’s leader in workforce development.”
Including Komatsu’s donation, a total of $1.45 million has been pledged to the Vision 2025 campaign by Komatsu and its dealer network.
