TechForce was founded in 2005 and began operations in 2007 as the Universal Technical Institute Foundation. For the first eight years, it existed as a scholarship and grant organization, supporting financially-disadvantaged students who chose to attend a UTI campus. In 2014, the charity’s board of directors elected to expand its mission to do more to solve the technician shortage and support students everywhere. In 2016, the organization changed its name to TechForce Foundation, expanded its scholarships to support students attending any post-secondary technical program, and entered into strategic alliances to fuel career exploration and workforce development for students starting in middle- and high-school. Today, TechForce helps students from more than 508 schools nationwide find a technical education and career that fits.

TechForce helps students who love working with their hands and are interested in exploring the technician career to learn more about the profession, find technical schools, scholarships and grants, mentors, apprenticeships, jobs and successful careers.

TechForce 1) promotes the professional by sharing information, resources and marketing that reframes the technician profession and dispels myths and stigmas; 2) provides hands-on experiences to engage students with auto/diesel technology, explore the career and get workforce ready; and 3) awards more than $2.3 million annually in scholarships and grants to support technical education (students, schools and fellow nonprofits). Additionally, TechForce collaborates with businesses, schools, associations and nonprofits offering additional workforce development solutions and connects students to all these valuable resources through TechForce’s online career hub.