The donation of $60,000 will fund more than 30 scholarships to help students cover the cost of their technical education
Memphis, Tenn.—AutoZone, Inc., in partnership with TechForce Foundation, has announced $60,000 in scholarships to support students pursuing careers as skilled technicians. The donation funds more than 30 scholarships to help students cover the cost of their technical education and continue to build the next generation of technicians.
The announcement comes on the heels of TechForce’s Technician Supply & Demand Report, which in December found that the U.S. still needs nearly one million new automotive, aviation, collision repair, and diesel technicians over the next five years.
“Thousands of technicians have completed school and entered the workforce after receiving support from TechForce,” said TechForce Foundation CEO Jennifer Maher. “When a few hundred-dollar expenses are all it takes to derail a student’s technical education, each scholarship makes a difference. AutoZone’s donation furthers our work to end the technician shortage and ensure young people and communities thrive. With our partners, TechForce is building the technician pipeline by connecting students’ curiosity to successful careers. AutoZone has been a partner for over 10 years, and we appreciate their steadfast support for TechForce Foundation’s charitable work.”
AutoZone’s scholarship contribution is in addition to the company’s ongoing annual donation in general support for TechForce Foundation’s charitable mission to champion all students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional technicians.
“AutoZone is proud to continue our partnership, which has been in place since 2011, with TechForce,” said Ken Jaycox, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Customer Satisfaction, AutoZone. “This collaboration is one of the many ways we support our customers by fostering career paths for those interested in the automotive industry and increasing the pool of trained technicians in the workforce, which benefits both our customers operating professional repair facilities and vehicle owners who rely on those technicians.”
Past scholarship recipients have found academic success and gone on to begin rewarding technician careers with the support of AutoZone and TechForce Foundation. One such recipient is Michael Buscher, who received a scholarship while attending Universal Technical Institute in 2024, and today works as a diesel technician and welder/fabricator for an independent shop in Pearland, Texas.
Buscher, said, “The scholarship has been instrumental in supporting my education and career goals. It helped alleviate the financial burden of attending tech school, enabling me to focus on my training. Additionally, it has given me the opportunity to pursue higher education in college while working part-time to gain hands-on experience in the field. This combination of education and work experience has set a strong foundation for my future career.”
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