(Left to right) Carlos Juco, Class of 2010, Lorne Jackson, Class of 2012, Mohammed Baruwa, Class of 2010, Wayne James, Maaco Systems Canada, Usman Baruwa, Class of 2013, Nimo Abdulkadir, Director of AYCE Employment Services, John Norris, Collision Industry Information Assistance, Marc Tremblay, coordinator AYCE Pre-apprenticeship Training Program, Achim Krull and Jason Burnett, Olympic Silver Medalist.
In our travels across the country, Canadian auto dealer frequently hears about the struggles many stores and groups are having when it comes to finding qualified people, particularly on the service and collision side. There are programs that are helping to change that. In Toronto, one is the Pre-apprenticeship Training for Auto Body Collision and Damage Repair program, run by AYCE Employment Services, a division of Tropicana Community Services. Recently, the program celebrated its fifth anniversary and Canadian auto dealer was invited to attend a special conference at Metro Hall in Toronto.
Taking place on Monday, April 7, the conference included a variety of speaker presentations. Nimo Abdulkadir, Director of AYCE, kicked things off with an introduction and a video which highlighted some of the achievements of both the program and it’s students over the last five years.
AYCE has partnered with many dealerships and collision centres and Flavio Battilana, Chief Operating Officer of Collision Solutions Network (CSN), one of the largest collision centre networks in Canada, talked about some of the challenges in the business today but also the opportunities. “You can have a wealthy, prosperous life in the collision business,” he said. “People come to us because they’ve had an interruption in their lives. If you like to take care of and help people, the collision business is a natural fit.”
Battilana talked about the auto industry shifting to new materials for vehicle construction in an effort to meet tougher fuel economy standards and said that Ford’s 2015 model F-150 represents a huge game changer for the collision industry because it is the first true, mass-market vehicle to feature an aluminum body. As a result, shops will have to adapt to working with aluminum at volumes previously unheard of.
Battilana encouraged attendees to consider their future. “As young people, we don’t always get direction but don’t be scared,” he said. “Have purpose in your life and whatever you do, choose to do it with passion. Give back to yourself, your family and your community.”
Jason Burnett, Canadian national trampoline athlete and Olympic silver medalist, gave an inspiring speech about how perseverance pays off. Burnett talked about his own experience starting out as young boy, taking summer jobs to help pay for his training and going to the Olympics in Beijing where he won silver. “Perseverance is not a long race,” he said, “it’s many short races, one after another.”
A great thing about the event was that graduate students of the pre-apprenticeship program got their chance to share their own success stories, illustrating what can be achieved, given the right tools and commitment. Brothers Mohammad and Usman Baura, along with Lorne Jackson and Carlos Juco said that the sky really was the limit and today, having all begun successful careers with major collision centres (readers may recognize Jackson and Duco as part of the Brimell Group team), they all said they are living proof of that.
Other guest speakers included Wayne James, Director of Operations for Maaco Systems Canada who talked about the importance of shops providing training programs, offering tours of their facilities and showing young students how to perform prep work, paint panels and test fit parts.
John Norris, of CIIA (Collision Industry Information Assistance), said that with vehicles and technology changing faster than ever, there is also more opportunity than ever. “This career really is a skilled trade,” he said. “The Red Seal is yours to carry with you wherever you go in life.”
Norris said that traditionally, the industry hasn’t done a good job in training people for the collision repair trade but thanks to organizations like AYCE that is changing. “Marc Tremblay (coordinator for the pre-apprenticeship program) and his team have done a wonderful job. They really get involved with students and track progress to make sure you are living up to your potential. Shops today are now looking to AYCE graduates when it comes to hiring.”
For more information on the AYCE Pre-apprenticeship Training for Auto Body Collision and Damage Repair program visit: ayce.on.ca.
