The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Foundation’s multi-faceted initiative to spark interest in service technician careers at car and commercial truck dealerships is gaining financial support from across the entire industry. Toyota Motor North America, which recently donated $100,000, joins a growing list of donors to the NADA Foundation’s new Workforce Initiative.

“Toyota is proud to announce its continued support to NADA and recent investment in the NADA Foundation’s Workforce Initiative,” said Rose Bauss, general manager of product quality and service support for Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota fully supports the collaborative efforts of all manufacturers and dealers to promote careers in the automotive industry.”

One of the immediate the goals of NADA’s workforce initiative is to fill OEM training programs to capacity. Each year, many seats in OEM training programs go unfilled even though full-time employment at dealerships is almost certain after graduation.

To help accomplish that, a new website, www.nadafoundation.org, includes the first and only interactive U.S. map of training and scholarship opportunities available for aspiring technicians.

The website also includes video stories where real technicians talk about their work and lifestyle balance provided by their dealership careers. An example is, “Smooth Sailing: How This Service Tech Started his High-Wage, High-Demand Career,” which features Jonathan Biggom, a senior service technician at Motorcars Toyota in Cleveland, Ohio.

“Creating a truly industry-wide effort to recruit, train and retain new service technicians is the only way we are going to address our technician shortage before it’s too late,” said 2019 NADA Chairman Charlie Gilchrist. “I am truly grateful for Toyota’s contribution to the NADA Foundation Workforce Initiative, and for the continued support of many others in the industry.”

To date, other contributions to the NADA Foundation’s Workforce Initiative include $50,000 from commercial truck manufacturer PACCAR (Kenworth and Peterbilt), $50,000 from the National Auto Auction Association, and $25,000 from Porsche Cars North America.

For more details, visit http://www.nadafoundation.org/.