ASE Education Foundation Launches $25 Million Federal Apprenticeship Grant to Put a New Generation of Service Technicians to Work

The four-year U.S. Department of Labor initiative pays for employers to hire and keep new auto, collision, and truck technicians — and gives the industry a proven way to grow the workforce.

LEESBURG, Va. – November 3, 2026 – Today, the ASE Education Foundation is officially launching the Transportation Automotive Technician Apprenticeship Incentive Fund, a $25 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand Registered Apprenticeships for auto, collision, and truck service technicians nationwide. Employers looking to develop their own technicians, schools looking to place their students, and anyone considering the trade as a career can learn more and sign up for updates at ASEeducationFoundation.org/apprenticeship.

The award comes through the Department’s Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program, and the idea behind it is refreshingly simple: reward registered apprenticeship sponsors for hiring apprentices and coaching them through the make-or-break first year on the job. Program sponsors — dealer groups, shop associations, franchise operators and similar organizations — can receive $3,500 for every apprentice they bring on and keep, paid in two parts as the new technician reaches 90 and 270 days on the job.

The Foundation is actively recruiting partners in all 50 states, the five territories and the District of Columbia, and apprenticeships will be created all across the industry; in franchised dealerships, retail chains, fleets, body shops, truck and diesel repair shops, and independent auto repair shops. Current RA Program sponsors who are ready to step up, put apprentices to work, and start receiving incentive payments can apply today at ASEeducationFoundation.org/apprenticeship/sponsor-application.

“This launch of this program lets us do something the industry has needed for a long time: open a clear, paid path into the trade, and give employers a proven way to invest in and grow the people who keep this country moving.

We’re not just filling jobs. We’re building careers that can support a family for a lifetime, strengthening the shops and dealers that serve their communities, and protecting the motoring public who trusts all of us every time they start their car.”

– Mike Coley, President, ASE Education Foundation

ASE will also be holding press conferences to celebrate the program launch during Industry Week 2026 in Las Vegas. Join us at AAPEX on Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 3:00-3:30 pm in the Press Conference Area, booth # V2657 in the Media Hub on Level 2 of the Venetian Expo, or at SEMA on Friday, Nov. 6 from 1:00 to 1:30 pm on the SEMA Collision Repair Stage, booth # 32145 in the South Hall Upper of the Las Vegas Convention Center.