Skills & Careers
The ASE Education Foundation formally launched a $25 million federal fund on Tuesday, Nov. 3, that pays auto, collision and truck repair businesses for hiring and keeping new technician apprentices, and it has opened an online application for sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship programs.
The Transportation Automotive Technician Apprenticeship Incentive Fund is a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, awarded in July 2026 under the department’s Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program. The foundation, based in Leesburg, Va., says the goal is to bring 6,000 new technicians into the trade over those four years. The program is entirely federally funded, and the foundation says not less than 85% of the award will flow to sponsors as incentive payments.
How the money works
Sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship programs can receive $3,500 for each new apprentice hired and retained: $2,500 after the apprentice has been on the job for 90 days and $1,000 more after 270 days, or nine months. If an apprentice leaves before 90 days, no payment is earned. If the apprentice leaves between 90 days and nine months, the sponsor keeps the first $2,500 but does not receive the second installment.
The money goes to the sponsor, not to the apprentice or necessarily to the employer. The foundation’s FAQ says it is up to the sponsor to decide how to use or distribute the funds, and that employers joining a group program should ask the sponsor how it plans to use the incentive before signing on. There is no cap on the number of apprentices an employer may submit, and payments are first come, first served.
Who can take part
Sponsors can be individual employers, organizations representing multiple employers such as state or local dealer associations, independent shop associations and franchise operators. The foundation lists franchised dealerships, independent repair shops, retail chains, fleets, body shops and truck and diesel shops among eligible businesses, in all 50 states, the five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Participation does not require ASE certification or ASE Education Foundation accreditation.
Apprentices must work in an approved occupation. The sponsor application page lists automotive service technician, collision repair technician or painter, collision damage estimator, truck and diesel service technician, auto glass installer and ADAS calibration technician, service advisor, parts counterperson, engine machinist, and service technicians for industrial and off-road equipment, RVs, outdoor power equipment, motorsports and motorcycles.
Existing Registered Apprenticeship programs can apply now. The application asks for official documentation from the U.S. Department of Labor or a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency showing the program is registered, plus an authorized signatory to accept the program’s terms. Organizations without a registered program submit contact information and are directed to help registering one. The foundation’s FAQ notes that the Labor Department may impose additional “substantial growth” requirements on existing programs.
What it means for job seekers
The fund does not hire or place apprentices directly. People interested in becoming technicians would be hired as paid employees by a participating shop, assigned a mentor and required to complete related technical instruction. Who pays for that instruction varies: some employers cover it fully, some share the cost with the apprentice, and in some states community colleges offer tuition-free classes to registered apprentices. The foundation says programs should state those terms up front, and that students may serve as apprentices while still enrolled.
The foundation’s interest form at ASEeducationFoundation.org/apprenticeship includes an option for people who want to become auto, collision or truck technicians through apprenticeship. Free program templates, called Apprenticeship-in-a-Box, were developed with the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Context
The ASE award is one of five cooperative agreements, totaling roughly $162 million nationally, that the Labor Department made in July, and the foundation calls it the largest workforce grant the department has awarded in the transportation service industry. The foundation planned launch events at the AAPEX trade show in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and at SEMA on Friday, Nov. 6. The foundation’s 6,000-technician figure is a goal, not a count of apprentices hired, and the release did not say how many sponsors have applied.
Sources
- ASE Education Foundation, “ASE Education Foundation Launches $25 Million Federal Apprenticeship Grant to Put a New Generation of Service Technicians to Work,” November 3, 2026. https://www.aseeducationfoundation.org/news/apprenticeship-grant/
- ASE Education Foundation, “Transportation Automotive Technician Apprenticeship Incentive Fund,” accessed November 5, 2026. https://www.aseeducationfoundation.org/apprenticeship/
- ASE Education Foundation, “Transportation Automotive Technician Apprenticeship Incentive Fund Sponsor Application,” accessed November 5, 2026. https://www.aseeducationfoundation.org/apprenticeship/sponsor-application/
- ASE Education Foundation, “Frequently Asked Questions,” Transportation Automotive Technician Apprenticeship Incentive Fund, accessed November 5, 2026. https://www.aseeducationfoundation.org/apprenticeship/faqs/
Featured photo: An auto mechanic checks the battery voltage of an older Mercedes-Benz car, Jan. 5, 2020. Representative image; not an apprentice or shop in the ASE Education Foundation program. Photo: Shixart1985, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Cropped from the original.
