CHICAGO (BRAIN) — The Chicagoland Area Bicycle Dealers Association is increasing its support of the Professional Bicycle Mechanics Association. The dealers association, which plans two trade shows next year, is providing six scholarships for bike mechanics to attend upcoming workshops conducted by the PBMA.
The scholarships will be awarded based on diversity and financial need. Details on how to apply will be available in July. Scholarships will include registration cost, meals, and a travel stipend.
Jim Kersten, CABDA's show director, said, "The PBMA's continued pursuit of quality training and mechanic certifications is essential to the future of our industry; good shops need great mechanics to survive. We need to help make their programming accessible to as many mechanics and shops as possible."
James Stanfill, PBMA's president, said a BicycleRetailer.com article spurred the program.
"BRAIN published a BPSA press release about their newly formed education committee, and a proposal from the PBMA that was under consideration. Shortly after that article was published, Jim reached out and asked if this was something that CABDA could help with. We chatted and reached an agreement that made sense and helps our mission to Promote, Advocate for, and Develop the Professional Bicycle Mechanic, and allows us to promote a scholarship opportunity now instead of later."
"We are still hopeful that the BPSA will decide that manufacturer technical education via our workshops is a worthy cause when they meet in September," Stanfill said.
The PBMA will host its first ever educational summit at CABDA's San Diego expo, in mid-January 2019. The summit will be an open registration event limited to 50 attendees. The goal is to bring the industry's educational community together. Initial goals will be to discuss certification, curriculum, and challenges faced not only by traditional bicycle schools, but also by many of the smaller organizations and manufacturers that are educating our current and future mechanics.
"This educational summit is the next evolution of the development arm of our mission. We hope to form an educational committee that can help drive standards and consistency that consumers can and will take note of," said Stanfill.
Kersten added, "There are far too few independent voices in our industry, and the PBMA is beholden to no one. That's an organization I can get behind. We are proud to support them, and I only wish we had deeper pockets."
