The TechForce Foundation is now accepting nominations for its third annual Techs Rock Awards. The awards recognize 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.
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 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.
Over $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 Company, CRC Industries, Snap-on Tools, Advance Auto Parts, Cengage, WD-40 Company, and AutoZone.
The grand prize winner, as chosen by popular vote, will receive additional prizes valued over $5,000 from CRC Industries, Ford Motor Company, Snap-on Tools, Advance Auto Parts, Shell, WD-40 Company, and AutoZone.
Recognition programs like the Techs Rock Awards can help address the technician shortage, the foundation said.
"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 accepting nominations through 5 PM PDT, Nov. 10. Nominate a technician today at TechForce.org/TechsRock.