Join the future of mobility: Talents4AA association was officially created
Talents4AA: creation of a professional association aiming to attract and retain talents of all ages, origins, genders and professions to the Automotive Aftermarket
After 2 years of preliminary work and exchanges, the Talents4AA association was officially created in Paris (France) in March 2022 with the aim of attracting and retaining talents of all ages and origins, in all professions, in one of the most attractive sectors: the Automotive Aftermarket.
Undeniably, the Automotive Aftermarket is a multifaceted fascinating sector offering a tremendous choice and range of career opportunities at all levels, from the workshop to top management. However, all the participants – from parts manufacturers, distributors, and repairers – are facing the very same challenge: to make the sector widely recognized and to attract and retain talents.
As studies confirm, the Automotive Aftermarket is most often unknown to young potentials and moreover is not considered attractive enough. To face this challenge, several International Trading Groups, distributors, federations, and suppliers decided in January 2020 to launch the common collaborative initiative called Talents4AA. In March 2022, Talents4AA took the legal form of a registered association, with 11 founding partners joining forces to make the Automotive Aftermarket take the market position it deserves and make it a desirable place for all talents to be.
The 11 founding partners are:
- Parts manufacturers: BorgWarner, Bosch, Nissens, Schaeffler, TMD Friction and ZF
- International trading groups: Global One Automotive, Nexus Automotive International, and Temot International
- The European federation of the independent wholesalers and retailers of automotive replacement parts and their associated repair chains: FIGGIE
- An innovation partner: Mobilion, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in smart mobility
They all voluntarily put their experiences and skills at the service of the association to develop, test, and disseminate effective solutions to meet local and global needs.
Also, to have joined the association:
- Automechanika, the leading international platform for the Automotive Aftermarket • Dinex, the leading supplier of emission & exhaust components for heavy duty
- The University of Southern Denmark, SDU
- The Swedish Distributors Association (Sveriges Bildelsgrossisters Förening, SBF)
Fotios Katsardis, President and Chief Executive Officer at Temot International, was elected as Chairman of the Talents4AA association for 2 years. He commented: “Over the past 2 years, a lot of work was done to define our industry; Universities were engaged, surveys were conducted, and new insight was gained on what is important and how to approach and win potentials for the sector. With the constitution of the association, we have just taken a major step that will allow us to communicate widely both within the Aftermarket sector and beyond with the talents we want to attract. We are inviting all the industry players to join forces with us: We need to be all of us together in this noble deed, nobody should be missing out.”
Indeed, Talents4AA pans several activities and works closely with members of the aftermarket community to establish, among others, its presence in the press and social media. An additional priority is the development of a digital hub to allow talents and the industry to meet and exchange.
Talents4AA will also be actively present at Automechanika Frankfurt, which will take place from 13th to 17th September 2022.
