Caliber Partners with TechForce and Learning Undefeated to Reach Students

Caliber Influences Future Collision Repair Technician Leaders, Partners With TechForce Foundation and Learning Undefeated to Reach Students

Experiential events highlight exciting auto body repair career opportunities and Caliber Technician Apprentice Program for high school students

November 14, 2022 – LEWISVILLE, TEXAS – The Caliber family of brands, including Caliber Collision, alongside Caliber Auto Care and Caliber Auto Glass, is highlighting its Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) and partnering with two national nonprofits, TechForce Foundation® and Learning Undefeated, both of which are dedicated to workforce development in the technician field and creation of unique STEM experiences for students from under-resourced communities. STEM Education is an educational approach which focuses on one or more of the four disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math. This collaboration features a pilot program that provides hands-on experiences, introducing high school students in Maryland and Texas to Caliber, TAP, and career possibilities where students can use the latest technology in the collision repair industry.

The pilot program runs from October through December and features both after-school and weekend events. Combining the resources of Caliber Collision centers and Learning Undefeated’s Mobile eXploration Lab (MXLab), students will receive tours, one-on-one demos and interact with experienced Caliber auto body technicians in a live shop environment. Additionally, students will learn about Caliber’s Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) and participate in fun car-related activities such as timed assembly challenges, remote control car racing and more.

“At Caliber, we are committed to inspiring all teammates to reach their full potential. Through our Technician Apprentice Program, we are influencing the next generation of auto body techs and helping students achieve their goals, as well uncover career opportunities, which they may not have previously considered, within Caliber’s supportive culture,” said Caliber President and CEO Mark Sanders. “We are excited to leverage this partnership to expose even more students, teachers and parents to Caliber and TAP.”

“This partnership is a great way to leverage the expertise of our complementary nonprofits combined with Caliber’s commitment to workforce development,” said TechForce CEO Jennifer Maher. “Using our techforce.org platform to promote and engage students, together, we’re introducing them to rewarding careers in collision repair, while leaving a lasting imprint on our communities.”

“There’s power in numbers, and this partnership will benefit thousands of students,” said Learning Undefeated CEO Brian Gaines. “Hands-on learning experiences help open students’ eyes to career possibilities and build excitement about the high-demand field of collision repair.”

About Caliber
Founded in 1997, the Caliber portfolio of brands has grown to more than 1,500 centers nationwide and features a full range of complementary automotive services, including Caliber Collision, the nation’s largest auto collision repair provider across 40 states, Caliber Auto Care for mechanical repair and quick oil change services and Caliber Auto Glass for glass repair and replacement.

Caliber was recognized as the only company of its kind to make the Forbes 2021 list of “America’s Best Large Employers,” an honor awarded to companies with high employee satisfaction. Caliber was also the only auto service provider to receive an Inc. 2021 Best in Business gold medal in the Extra Large Company (500+ employees) category, recognizing Caliber for going above and beyond to make a positive impact.

With the purpose of Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life®, Caliber’s more than 25,000 teammates are committed to getting customers back on the road safely—and back to the rhythm of their lives. Dedicated to providing an outstanding customer experience, Caliber continues to rank among the highest customer satisfaction scores in the industry. Learn more about Caliber at Caliber.com.

About TechForce Foundation
TechForce Foundation is a 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 $1.5 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, social network of students, working technicians, instructors, employers, industry professionals and enthusiasts committed to championing the technician workforce is the conduit through which the charity delivers its free resources, programs and career hub for the benefit of aspiring technicians. For more information, visit techforce.org. Follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and YouTube.

About Learning Undefeated
Learning Undefeated is driving race and gender equity in STEM through experiential and deep-impact learning experiences for students from under resourced communities. Best known for its fleet of traveling STEM laboratories, Learning Undefeated’s flagship STEM education program has prepared more than 1.3 million K-12 students for STEM careers since 2003, through hands-on content exploration, game-based learning, summer camps, and talent development programs. In 2022, Learning Undefeated’s shipping container based Drop Anywhere Lab won the Best of STEM Awards in the Social Impact: Promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category. Learning Undefeated also operates several other celebrated STEM education programs including custom curriculum development and STEM disaster recovery education. Visit learningundefeated.org or follow us on social media @LearningUNDFTD.

###

New TechForce Mobile STEM Career Center brings hands-on transportation tech activities to Gen Z students nationwide

New TechForce Mobile STEM Career Center brings hands-on transportation tech activities to Gen Z students nationwide

Penske Truck Leasing Donates Truck to get STEM Center on the road

(January 22, 2022 – SCOTTSDALE, AZ) – Penske Truck Leasing has donated a specially equipped 26-foot Freightliner M2 box truck to house and transport the TechForce Foundation Mobile STEM Career Center. The truck was introduced at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction with a news conference on Saturday, January 22 at 9:30 AM MST.

Penske Truck Leasing executives hand keys to the donated STEM Center truck to TechForce CEO Jennifer Maher.
Penske Truck Leasing executives handing the keys to the donated STEM Center truck to TechForce CEO Jennifer Maher.

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. It also serves as a mobile billboard and its eye-catching design was a collaboration between artist Kevin Paige and Roush Industries which donated the integrated design and wrap.

“This generous donation from Penske Truck Leasing is helping amplify TechForce’s ability to directly engage with many more young people who may not realize they might have a knack for this career path,” according to TechForce CEO, Jennifer Maher. “Although we developed the STEM career activities over the past few years, we’ve been limited by our ability to deploy them – these are big and heavy activities. This Penske truck makes us highly mobile, and we are looking forward to hitting the road in 2022. The real reward for us is when we get to see these young people light up as they discover their skills and how much they enjoy these activities which can lead to considering a rewarding career as a transportation tech.” 

“Technicians are a key component of keeping the supply chain in motion by servicing existing diesel engines and the emerging EV technologies. Investing in the next generation of technicians is vital to our business and industry,” said Art Vallely, president of Penske Truck Leasing. “Our ability to configure this vehicle to fit the Mobile STEM Center’s needs was the perfect opportunity for us to align with our continued pledge to support TechForce and its efforts to engage with future technicians.”

The Mobile STEM Career Center activities include:

– Pit Stop Challenge – Race against the clock to see who can change the tires fastest on the front clip of a real NASCAR. Get to use the real power tools from the racing pits.

– Go Nutz – See how good you are at matching the fasteners (nuts) to the Snap-on wrenches.

– The Virtual V8 – Discover the inner workings of the virtual V-8 engine projected into your real world.

– Off the Line – Test your reflexes on a real light tree from a drag strip starting line.

– Slot Car Racing – Discover how shape and weight can determine the winning car as you take on challengers.

– High-tech circuits – Build your own functioning circuitry with real circuit boards, wires, motors and lights.

– How’s It Work – Discovery station manned by instructors who demonstrate some of the common auto systems and maybe even some catastrophic failures.

– Model of Power – Try your hand at building a functioning scaled-down model of a V-8 engine.

– Cutaway V-10 – Check out the inner workings of a real high-performance V-10 engine.

– Code-A-Car – Write code to power miniature auto functions like lights and fans.

– Ford GT – Check out and maybe even get your picture at the wheel of the Nicolas Cage Ford GT.

– TechForce Network – Explore the free competitions, events, training and other resources designed especially for the next generation of techs.

All of TechForce’s partners have helped bring this Mobile STEM Career Center to fruition. In addition to Penske and Roush, several others have been integral, in particular Shell Lubricants for helping fund its deployment to events like Barrett-Jackson, and to Ford Motor Company, Sunstate Equipment and Snap-on for helping to equip the Center.

About TechForce Foundation

TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion all students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional transportation technicians. The Foundation distributes more than $1.2 million in scholarships and grants annually, thanks to its generous corporate sponsors and donors, and spearheads an industry-wide workforce development initiative to help encourage and support more young people to pursue the vehicle technician profession. This includes a network of students, working technicians, instructors, employers, industry professionals and enthusiasts committed to championing the technician workforce. For more information, visit www.techforce.org. Follow us on Facebook, InstagramTwitter and Linkedin.

About Penske Truck Leasing

Penske Truck Leasing is a Penske Transportation Solutions company headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. A leading global transportation services provider, Penske Truck Leasing operates more than 360,000 vehicles and serves customers from more than 1,300 locations in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Product lines include full-service truck leasing, contract maintenance, commercial and consumer truck rentals, used truck sales, transportation and warehousing management and supply chain management solutions. Visit www.pensketruckleasing.com to learn more.

Links to Photos and Videos

###

 

Please share your contact details and a TechForce team member will contact you.


"By connecting students, instructors, industry pros and working techs, the TechForce Foundation provides unilateral support to the transportation industry’s technician recruiting needs… The administration of our Scholarships by the TechForce team has been instrumental in delivering us with a successful method to gain interest from qualified candidates as well as provide our students with additional assistance to complete their education."
Tony Farr
Ford Technical Programs Manager