MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 23, 2025 — AutoZone, Inc. today, in partnership with TechForce
Foundation, announced $60,000 in scholarships to support students pursuing careers as
skilled technicians. The donation funds more than thirty 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 1 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. Michael 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.
Michael says, “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.”
TechForce Foundation scholarships provide vital financial assistance to students
pursuing careers in the skilled trades, including those training to become service
technicians. Scholarships support students’ tuition, tools, and other training-related
expenses, easing the financial burden of pursuing a technician career.
About AutoZone
As of February 15, 2025, Company had 6,483 stores in the U.S., 813 in Mexico and 136
in Brazil for a total store count of 7,432.
AutoZone is the leading retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and
accessories in the Americas. Each store carries an extensive product line for cars, sport
utility vehicles, vans and light duty trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive
hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. The majority
of stores have a commercial sales program that provides prompt delivery of parts and
other products and commercial credit to local, regional and national repair garages,
dealers, service stations, fleet owners and other accounts. AutoZone also sells
automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories and non-automotive products
through www.autozone.com, and our commercial customers can make purchases
through www.autozonepro.com. Additionally, we sell the ALLDATA brand of automotive
diagnostic, repair, collision and shop management software through www.alldata.com.
We also provide product information on our Duralast branded products through
www.duralastparts.com. AutoZone does not derive revenue from automotive repair or
installation services.
About TechForce Foundation
TechForce Foundation is a national nonprofit, 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion all
students to and through their education and into careers as professional technicians.
TechForce powers the technician workforce by awarding more than $6 million in
scholarships and grants annually to financially disadvantaged students; changes
perceptions towards this evolving, ‘new collar’ STEM career; and provides local career
exploration and workforce development programming. TechForce’s online network of
students, working technicians, instructors, employers, industry professionals and
enthusiasts is the conduit through which the charity delivers its free resources for the
benefit of aspiring technicians. For more information, visit techforce.org. Follow us on
TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.
Media Contacts:
● AutoZone:
○ Financial: Brian Campbell at (901) 495-7005, brian.campbell@autozone.com
○ Media: Jennifer Hughes at (901) 495-6022, jennifer.hughes@autozone.com
● TechForce:
○ VP of Marketing & IT, Reagan Bender at (360)820-9922,
rbender@techforce.org
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