TechForce Foundation is a national charity committed to powering technical careers so communities thrive. We are LIVE at AAPEX 2022 with members of the TechForce Foundation to discuss their critical role in engaging with the next generation of technicians . Lisa Evans, Chief Development Officer Keishawn Smith, Student and Advocate for TechForce Jennifer Maher, Executive Director techforce.org Key Talking Points

• The TechForce Network is an online social community and career hub that connects GenZ and Millennials in a way they want to connect – using the TechForce app or online network to find information, explore the career, discover schools, get scholarships, find apprenticeships and jobs, and flex their talents – all in one place.  TechForce collaborates with every willing school, company, association, and nonprofit across all sectors to identify solutions that help future and working techs navigate the career pathway, successfully getting them from pipeline to placement.
• Food, shelter, and transportation- all involved in the automotive industry
• Over the next five years, auto, diesel, collision, and aviation combined will need 1 million new technicians to keep up with demand. Last year alone, our tech schools only graduated in auto 29,000 students
• Networking at AAPEX- CEO’s, executives in corporate companies, manufacturers etc 
• TechForce was able to give out 1.6 million in scholarships last year and 17 million total since its inception 
• It’s important for youths that their parents are supportive and help them reach their goals
• Do you have a career map? To level up? Younger generations want a career path.
• TechForce provides students & instructors with free, VIP access to races, rallies, shows, & events where they’ll meet employers & be surrounded by the passion of the industry
• The TechForce Mobile STEM Career Center is a traveling hands-on exhibit designed to engage Gen Z and help them discover the rewarding career path as professional technicians in the transportation field. Part of TechForce’s national workforce development initiative, the Center can be deployed for indoor or outdoor activities and can scale from several hands-on activities to more than a dozen. It features a built-in exterior video wall as well as retractable awnings and two large free-standing shade covers.
• Technicians need to get certified, trained, to get the right education, for them to be built up the right way
• ‘Life Happens Grants’- #1 application is for car repair, #2 is for tire replacements
• Diversity and Inclusion- less than 3% are female technicians, and 52% of the total population is female

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