Mont., Ind. auto body repair trade groups announce help for local vo-tech schools

Two state collision repair trade groups and two national organizations recently announced their support of local vocational educational programs, and their efforts provide a roadmap for repairers to assist schools and foster the skilled labor needed by the industry.

On Aug. 30, the Indiana Auto Body Association described its work on behalf of the Hammond, Ind.-based Area Career Center and said I-CAR has eyed the facility as a regional training site. Four days later, the Collision Repair Education Foundation announced it and Montana Collision Repair Association would raise funds to support Montana’s “lone collision repair training program,” found at Montana State University-Billings.

Montana

CREF said it and the MCRA would raise money to supply MSU-Billings’s City College with a new frame rack, hand tools and aluminum-specific tools and equipment, epoxied floors, student work uniforms and scholarships.

“When I took over the program, most of the tools were in need of repair, replacement, or were obsolete,” MSU-Billings collision instructor Steven Wodrich said in a statement Tuesday. “It has been a struggle to get all the tools I have needed to make my program current. I have worked very hard at finding donations and grants and have been able to update many of our tools but still have a long way to go to be completely current.”

“Tool donations are pretty rare,” CREF development director Brandon Eckenrode said in a 2018 interview following CREF’s facilitation of a retiree’s gift to a Florida school, but they’re “obviously needed” by the nation’s vocational education facilities.

He said at the time sheet metal and plastic parts to practice upon are the No. 1 request by schools. “We kind of target those,” he said last year.

CREF can be a good middleman for shops and individual repairers looking to make such donations. As a nonprofit 501(c)3, it has the ability to send the donor a letter documenting the gift for tax-deduction purposes. Anyone interested in supporting the Montana effort can contact Eckenrode at 312-231-0258 or Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org.

“Through our the generous support of sponsors and the local collision industry we hope to help MSU-Billings students receive the education they need to succeed in the collision industry,” Eckenrode said in a statement Tuesday.

“MCRA is proud to team with Collision Repair Education to enhance the future of collision repairers in the state of Montana. Programs such as this are a lifeline to the repairers, schools, trainers, and students supporting the collision repair industry. Thank you for your hard work and dedication,” MCRA President Paul Flores (Rick’s Auto Body) said in a statement.

Indiana

ACC received collision repair industry attention with the March Taylor Memorial Fund’s donation of two toolboxes and sets of tools at the July 25 Indianapolis CIC. Instructor Samantha McCauley delivered a powerful message about vo-tech program hurdles and how the industry could help educators.

In 2018, TechForce concluded based upon federal data that the collision repair industry needs to add 17,200 technicians annually “just to stay level.”

Only 5,791 students graduated postsecondary collision repair programs (such as a community colleges) in 2016, TechForce concluded using NCES stats. TechForce reported 56,596 “automotive,” diesel and collision students combined graduated in 2016 — satisfying less than half the 121,400 combined positions needed by the broader transportation sector based upon BLS data.

McCauley’s program, the only auto body program in Northwest Indiana, is poised for further support from the industry — if it can meet donors halfway.

“The largest need?” IABA wrote in a news release. “To get the bare bones of the facility up to where it needs to such as; the classroom air conditioning, Electrical issues, and relocating the air Compressor to create a teachable area without the loud motor overbearing conversations.”

I-CAR — which is represented in the area by IABA Second Vice President Todd Bonecutter — would like to make the ACC collision center a regional training site, IABA Vice President Andy Tylka said Friday. In return, ACC would receive I-CAR’s curriculum for free — which would allow graduates to emerge with I-CAR certification, said Tylka (Tom and Ed’s Autobody).

I-CAR’s current training site for the Northwest Indiana area is a hotel, and it has a “huge need” for onsite training, Tylka said. As body shops don’t want to send technicians to a competitor’s shop to train, I-CAR is trying to find a central neutral location.

“This is the best candidate for that,” Tylka said.

If the school can make the kind of upgrades described above, I-CAR would use it, Tylka said.

ACC also has been approved for a free Rust-Oleum floor under CREF’s national vo-tech initiative if the school can pay for the application and remove some aged prep stations and large cabinets, Tylka said. The removal would create a more open floorplan and prevent a situation where “undone space” unable to be recoated existed under the cabinets, according to Tylka. He said the walls could also use a coat of paint.

New ACC Director Mary Beth Nickolaou learned about the program and the conditional assistance offers during a tour Aug. 27, according to IABA.

Source: https://bit.ly/2lEpl7b