Ford Motor Co. will be investing $2 million in scholarships for students training to become automotive techs across the country, reports the Detroit Free Press.

The Ford Auto Tech Scholarship is funded by Ford’s philanthropic Ford Fund and Ford dealers. 400 scholarships will be awarded to current or future students who have completed high school and are pursuing automotive technology degrees or certificates from various accredited programs.

The push for technician training from Ford follows some recent controversy with inadequate repairs being performed by Ford dealers on Takata airbags. According to a whistleblower complaint reported by the Detroit Free Press, a loosening of requirements for techs working on recall repairs led to them not being performed properly. 

Ford has denied that this is the case but has reportedly told dealers that 56% of their techs must complete mandatory training by April 1 or their repair claims will be rejected.

Each scholarship will amount to $5,000 per student and will be administered through the TechForce Foundation. Scholarships will be awarded on a rolling basis to students in the following regions: Detroit; Greater Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas; Phoenix; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Miami; Seattle; and Cincinnati.

During last year’s program, which awarded scholarships to 200 students, Ford said that scholarships were being dispersed in regions with the most need for training. The automaker is investing twice as much as it did last year when it first launched the scholarship project.

Applications are now open, and will be accepted through Aug. 31. Those interested in applying may do so through the TechForce website.