TechForce Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission to champion students to and through their education and into careers as professional technicians in the transportation industry, has once again pledged its support of the TMCFutureTech national student technician competition as title sponsor.
Hosted by the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC), the competition is going strong in its sixth year, having begun in 2014. Approximately 60 students are expected to compete on Sept. 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The format includes testing written knowledge as well as hands-on diagnostic skills. It is a competition that has proven to draw the best and brightest young students from around the country to compete. Many past participants have been immediately hired by some of the top employers in the trucking industry and have gone on to have rewarding careers.
According to Jennifer Maher, CEO of TechForce Foundation, “The competition is a prime example of what can be accomplished when organizations from across an industry come together with a single-minded purpose. In this case, that purpose is a commitment to support skills development in the young men and women who will be our future technicians of tomorrow.”
Many of the companies that assist in running the skills testing stations, donating their time and equipment are competitors in the marketplace every day. However, that is all put aside for the greater cause when it comes to working together in the competition.
TechForce also says it has doubled-down on its involvement this year. In addition to the title sponsorship, it has set up a new online sponsorship process. This allows interested individuals or organizations from the industry to easily sign up to sponsor one or more students in the competition. This is especially important, as all contestants must be sponsored to enter. Sponsors are able to pay online by credit card, and as TechForce is a 501(c)(3) foundation, receipts are provided to sponsors for tax donation purposes. Further information on sponsorships is available at techforce.org/TMC2019.
