Auto Collabs
Collaboration through connection.
Hosted by Paul J Daly, Kyle Mountsier, and Michael Cirillo, Auto Collabs is your connect point to the human side of the retail automotive industry: what motivates its leaders, how they navigate change, and what keeps them pushing forward. It’s beyond-the-business-card conversations with real people powering dealerships, technology platforms, and everything in between.
From the team behind the More Than Cars movement, this podcast is built on one big belief: thriving people create thriving businesses. With candid conversations, industry insight, and just enough unfiltered banter to keep things interesting, Auto Collabs delivers authentic stories that inspire real collaboration.
// Auto Collabs is produced by Automotive State of the Union (ASOTU). Learn more at https://www.asotu.com
Auto Collabs
The State Dealer Association That Cracked the Technician Shortage
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Most industries are still complaining about the talent shortage. New Jersey decided to fix it.
In this episode, Laura Perrotta, President of NJ CAR, breaks down a bold, fully funded technician training program that’s flipping the script on workforce development. Backed by state grants and built in partnership with dealerships, the program pays students to learn, trains them inside real service departments, and guarantees job placement—no debt, no guesswork, no fluff. It’s not just workforce development—it’s a full-stack solution to one of the auto industry’s biggest bottlenecks.
We also go deeper into how NJ CAR operates as more than a typical dealer association—running title and registration processing for the state, generating revenue, and reinvesting it into programs like this. The result? A scalable, repeatable model that could reshape how dealers across the country think about hiring, training, and long-term growth.
Timestamped Takeaways
00:00 Why New Jersey’s Reputation Is Completely Misunderstood—and Why It Matters for Dealers
01:22 Inside NJ CAR: The Hidden Infrastructure Powering 500+ Dealerships
03:59 What Truck Dealers Already Solved That Auto Dealers Are Just Facing Now
06:30 The 3-Day Title Processing System That Shouldn’t Work (But Does)
10:58 The Moment Dealers Realized the Technician Shortage Needed a Radical Fix
11:43 How a $665K State Grant Turned an Idea Into a Scalable Workforce Engine
12:50 The 18-Week Program That Replaces Years of Traditional Technical Schooling
13:37 Free Training, Paid Students, $3K in Tools—Why This Model Changes Everything
14:26 “I Thought It Was a Scam”: The Unexpected Talent Entering the Industry
16:07 Why Most States Haven’t Built This Yet—And What They’re Missing
17:56 The Shocking Number: 9,300 Technicians Needed in One State Alone
20:14 Why Hands-On Apprenticeships Are Outperforming Traditional Education
Connect with Laura Perrotta at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-perrotta-cae-plc-585a6510/
Learn more about NJ CAR at https://www.njcar.org
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