TAMPA, Fla. - The City of Tampa is trying to tackle a shortage in its workforce by partnering with Hillsborough Community College to launch the GEAR UP program.

The program aims to create a pipeline for students to be hired as mechanics and auto technicians.

The backstory:

Reports show that over the last several years, there's been a demand for hundreds of thousands of auto technicians nationwide. The City of Tampa said it's faced its own challenges with recruiting and hiring mechanics.

"They service close to 3,900 vehicles that are used by our city team each and every day," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said. "First responder vehicles, fire, police and everything else, water, wastewater."

Castor said their mechanics are vital to the operations of daily city services.

"When some peop

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