America's Northwood University has honoured an education expert from the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK) for her many years of dedication to the field of vocational education and training, and in particular her work on ensuring that the automotive trade will have access to the skilled workers it needs going forward.
Birgit Behrens, Director of Vocational Education and Training at the ZDK, received the Dealer Education Award from NADA, the American association of automobile dealers, at its convention in Las Vegas, USA. Northwood University gives the prize every year to car dealers and industry experts in recognition of outstanding services to training and continuing education.
In presenting Behrens with this award, the US university paid tribute to her many years of dedication to the field of vocational education and training, and in particular her work on ensuring that the automotive trade will have access to the skilled workers it needs going forward. It also highlighted her work for the Federal Technical College for Business Studies in the Automotive Industry (BFC) in Northeim, Lower Saxony, and on the postgraduate course attended by BFC graduates at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan.
Northwood University has close ties to NADA, the American equivalent of the ZDK, and has been working in partnership with both the ZDK and BFC since as far back as 1992. As the only US university to offer a degree in "Automotive Marketing and Management", Northwood is the only institution able to help the country's dealers find their next generation of academically trained leaders.
Since the partnership began, around 450 international students from the BFC and other institutions have completed the "Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)" at Northwood.