The California New Car Dealers Association Foundation has partnered with ASE Connects to help dealerships in the Golden State cultivate relationships with schools and students that are building the foundation of the automotive technician workforce.

ASE Connects, part of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, is a network of shops, dealerships, instructors and students who provide workforce development tools to foster the long-term health of the car business.

All shops and dealerships will be able to utilize ASE Connects through its current free trial promotion through the end of the year.

Once the trial ends, dealerships who are CNCDA Foundation partners can receive discounted access to the platform.

The partnership comes amid a technician shortage for California dealerships. Investing in tech school relationships is paramount for these service shops.

Partnering with ASE Connects augments the work CNCDA Foundation has done to connect with future technicians, and provides dealerships in the state “a direct way to engage with local auto and diesel training programs, identify emerging talent and support students from the classroom all the way to the shop floor,” ASE said in a release.

“California has no shortage of young people who would thrive in this industry. They just don’t always know the opportunity is there,” CNCDA Foundation president Kim McPhaul said in a news release.

“The CNCDA Foundation has been working to change that, and partnering with ASE Connects gives our dealers a better way to meet those students where they are,” McPhaul said. “The more interactions we can create between dealerships and schools, the stronger the pipeline gets for everyone, and ASE Connects makes it simple.”

ASE vice president of industry advancement Jay Goninen said: “The CNCDA Foundation has built something really meaningful in California — a genuine infrastructure for getting students into automotive careers. Pairing that with ASE Connects gives dealers a much more complete picture of the talent coming up, and a better way to show up as employers that students actually want to work for.”

Mor information on the free trial is available here: wrenchway.com/partners/cncda.