TechForce Mid-Year Report: Ahead on fundraising goal, on track to award $6 million by year-end
TechForce Foundation CEO Jennifer Maher says the foundation is ahead of schedule on its 2026 fundraising goal — raising $8.4 million to a budget of $11.6 million.
As of the publication of TechForce’s Mid-Year Impact Report 2026, the foundation had reviewed nearly 9,000 applications from students in “deep financial need.” Over 12,000 scholarship applications were received in 2025.
TechForce is on track to award another $6 million by year-end, according to the mid-year report. However, Maher noted that it also serves as a reminder that, due to funding limitations, TechForce can only fund 1 in 6 applications.
“We tell kids they can be anything they want in life, and then throw them to the wind to figure it out,” she states in the report. “TechForce stands beside them through the journey, and ensures they get over the finish line into successful careers.”
Of 2026 efforts highlighted in the report, TechForce launched its Wraparound Resource Center in May. The center aims to address barriers students face, including financial pressure, transportation, belonging, and the transition from school into the workforce. In answer, the resource center offers six categories of help: mindset and resilience, life skills and real-world readiness, career paths and what to expect, tools and technical mastery, community and belonging, and financial support and stability.
“Scholarship demand continues to accelerate year-over-year,” the mid-year report states. “Mid-year applications increased 43.2%, from 6,263 to 8,967, while scholarship dollars awarded grew 32.4%, from $2.24 million to $2,965,000. Demand continues to outpace funding, widening the gap between qualified applicants and scholarships available. ”
The report also states that 866 scholarships had been awarded this year as of the report’s publication date. Funding had reached roughly 1 in 10 qualified applicants.
TechForce also states in the report that the foundation’s marketing efforts through search engine marketing and social targeting are reaching more students and working technicians than ever.
“This focused digital approach keeps connecting the right candidates with opportunities at key moments in their career journey, and the results continue to build on the momentum we reported at this time last year,” the report states.
Key figures highlighted include:
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- 109,440 total users broken down into 76,991 students, 21,645 working techs, and 3,732 instructors
- 35.68% increase year-over-year (YoY) in total user network growth
- 43.49% increase YoY in new user traffic to the website
In June, TechForce reported that the U.S. economy is short roughly 140,000 skilled technicians a year, and the gap is widening, with 73,354 new collision repair entrant technicians needed by 2029.
The data comes from TechForce’s newest “Technician Supply, Demand & Opportunity Report.” It expands the foundation’s analysis from four sectors to 10, covering workers who keep American cars, trucks, planes, factories, hospitals, and data centers running.
Across those 10 sectors, employers will need 241,842 new technicians per year through 2029, the report finds, compared with 101,743 students who graduated from technical schools and community colleges last year. TechForce found that the collision repair sector sees the highest turnover of the 10 analyzed at 60.7%.
However, the report adds that technicians aren’t retiring faster than the overall workforce. For example, 3.5% of automotive technicians exit the workforce compared to 4.8% of all U.S. workers.
“The problem is recruitment, not retention,” the report states. “This shifted the policy argument entirely.”
TechForce Foundation has partnered with the SEMA Show to present the 8th Annual Techs Rock Awards, a national celebration of the students and technicians powering America’s most essential industries.
Techs Rock Awards recognize standout students and working professionals in the technician field, according to a press release from the foundation. This year, for the second consecutive year, grand prize recipients will be celebrated live at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
All finalists will receive a prize courtesy of Carlyle Tools. Grand prize winners will receive a 580-piece Carlyle Tools Master Tool Set and equipment package, including a service jack, two die grinders, and an air compressor.
Finalists will be selected in six categories:
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- Automotive and Motorsports
- Diesel
- Collision, Restoration, and Welding
- Aviation, Motorcycle, and Marine
- Emerging Technologies
- HVAC, Homes, and Buildings
“The interest is there. The talent is there. What these technicians haven’t always had is a room full of people telling them their work matters,” said Maher in the release. “That’s what the SEMA Show does. It puts the industry’s biggest spotlight on the people who keep it running; and for the students still figuring out their path, it makes the destination feel real.”
Nominations close Aug. 3. Anyone can nominate a deserving student or technician at TechForce.org/TechsRock. A panel of judges will review submissions and select the finalists. From Sept. 21-Oct. 12, the public will vote to determine one student and one working technician as grand prize winners. Both will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to be honored on-stage during the show.
“The SEMA Show is where the automotive aftermarket industry’s future takes shape—through breakthrough products, new ideas, and rising talent,” said RJ de Vera, SEMA vice president of marketing, in the release. “Technicians play a critical role in that future, and with the TechForce Foundation, we’re proud to spotlight and support those who will carry the torch forward.”
Since 2018, the Techs Rock Awards have recognized 79 outstanding students and technicians.
“But the point was never just the trophy,” the release states. “It’s the moment a young person sees someone who looks like them, doing what they do, standing on a stage that size, and decides this career is worth pursuing.”
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