Under the Hood: How TuneUp Is Building Careers at Social Commons
Meet the automotive training program turning Birmingham’s drive into real, lasting work.
Ask anyone who works on cars for a living, and they’ll tell you the same thing: the work is honest, the demand is steady, and the path in is not always clear. Plenty of people have the drive to build a career in the automotive world. What they don’t always have is someone to hand them the wrench, show them the work, and open the door to a real job.
That’s the gap TuneUp was built to fill. And it’s doing that work right here at Social Commons.
A Career Built on Real Skill
TuneUp is a practical automotive training program for individuals at every skill level, from the newcomer who has never opened a hood to the experienced technician sharpening their craft. The approach is refreshingly simple: hands-on instruction paired with real-world experience, the kind that actually prepares someone for a job rather than just a certificate.
While TuneUp officially launched in 2023, the experience behind it runs much deeper. Founded by Blake Terry, its roots reach back to 2010, with more than 5,000 hours of classroom instruction delivered and lasting relationships built with over 20 companies, schools, and manufacturers. That’s not a startup learning as it goes. That’s years of industry knowledge and connection poured into every student who walks through the door.
More Than Training. A Path to Work.
What sets TuneUp apart isn’t just the quality of the instruction. It’s where the instruction leads.
TuneUp’s local partnerships connect learners directly to opportunity. Through relationships with businesses across the region, students don’t just finish a program and hope for the best. They gain hands-on experience, employment opportunities, and a genuine path toward continued career growth. For someone starting out, that connection can be the difference between a dream and a paycheck.
The program meets people wherever they are. It offers foundational education for those just getting started, continuing education for technicians who want to advance, and focused workshops for specific skills. Whatever the stage, the goal is the same: real skill, real opportunity, real work.
Why TuneUp and Social Commons Fit Together
This is exactly the kind of work Social Commons exists to support.
Our six-acre campus in historic Titusville was built on a simple belief: when good people have good space, good things grow. TuneUp is that belief in motion. It takes the raw drive of people in our community and turns it into a skill that can sustain a family. It opens doors that might otherwise stay closed. It treats workforce development not as charity, but as dignity, the dignity of good work, done well, for fair pay.
When someone learns a trade at TuneUp, the impact doesn’t stop with them. It reaches their family, their household, and the broader Birmingham economy. That’s the multiplying effect we hope for from every organization that calls Social Commons home. Each partner concentrates on their own mission, and together the whole community grows stronger.
Start Your Engine
If you have ever thought about a career in the automotive world, or you know someone who has, TuneUp is the place to start. No experience required. Just the willingness to learn and the drive to build something.
The work is honest. The demand is real. And the door is open.
Learn more about TuneUp’s workforce education, continuing education, and workshops, or come tour Social Commons and see the program in action.
Where Good Grows.