TechForce Foundation’s annual Techs Rock Awards season has begun. TechForce created the award to honor professional technicians who mentor and inspire the next generation of techs, bring excellence to their workplaces and communities, and demonstrate passion and commitment to the profession. Now in its third year, the Techs Rock Awards are accepting nominations through 5 p.m. on Nov. 10. Nominate a technician today at TechForce.org/TechsRock.
More than $12,500 in prizes will be awarded:
- Each category winner, selected by a panel of industry experts, will receive prizes valued over $1,500 from TechForce partners including Ford Motor Co., CRC Industries, Snap-on Tools, Advance Auto Parts, Cengage, WD-40 and AutoZone.
- The grand prize winner, as chosen by popular vote, will receive additional prizes valued at more than $5,000 from CRC Industries, Ford Motor Co., Snap-on Tools, Advance Auto Parts, Shell, WD-40 and AutoZone.
- Technicians will be considered for one of five categories including Pay it Forward, Rookie of the Year, Die Hard Tech, Outstanding Mentor and Barrier Buster. A panel of celebrity judges will select one category winner from each of the five categories. The grand prize winner will be selected from the slate of category winners via a people’s choice public vote, to be held Nov. 29 – Dec. 3.
The 2021 Techs Rock Award judges include Emily Reeves, Flying Sparks Garage; Charles Sanville, The Humble Mechanic; Bogi Lateiner, Bogi’s Garage; Steve Ford, The Car Guy; and Julia Landauer, Julia Landauer Racing.
The previous grand prize winner Melina Algier of Farnsworth Chevrolet remarked on the Techs Rock Awards, “Amazing! It’s an honor. I have dedicated myself to proving that women can work in the [transportation] industry… Thank you!”
TechForce Foundation will be releasing a 2021 update to its Technician Supply & Demand Report later this month addressing the ongoing technician shortage. Recognition programs like the Techs Rock Awards can help address the shortage. These programs are vital not only to retaining technicians but to repositioning the public’s perception of technician jobs as the high-tech, rewarding, new collar careers that they are.
The Techs Rock Awards are part of TechForce Foundation’s workforce development initiative to help inspire and support tomorrow’s workforce of technicians. TechForce has also created the first and only social network designed and gamified for professional technicians and tech students to connect with each other, employers and schools (JoinTechForce.org). The transportation community is supporting it with content and using it to learn, connect, find events, and explore job opportunities while competing for prizes and leaderboard status.
