Automotive Collision Partnership Pays Full Tuition, Other Costs for New Students

Starting spring 2021, the Automotive Collision Engineering Pilot Program, an initiative from the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation, will pay 100% of the tuition and uniform costs for a cohort of up to ten new Contra Costa College automotive collision repair students. The program will also help pay for tools and transportation, help place students in jobs and, if those jobs pay minimum wage, even pay them an additional $3 / hour.

Designed to attract and develop entry-level talent to fill essential roles within the collision repair industry, and enhance retention and advancement among collision repair technicians, the program is piloting at four schools across the country – including Contra Costa College.

This groundbreaking program has been developed to address a paradigm shift in the transportation industry as it faces a major technician shortage. With nearly 80,000 new collision technicians needed between 2020 and 2024, according to the TechForce Foundation, demand for collision professionals is significantly outpacing the number in the workforce.

The program follows an apprenticeship model, which prepares students for success by treating them as professionals from day one. Designed with auto collision industry needs in mind, the program encourages schools and industry to work together to encourage lifelong learning for the future leaders of the collision industry.

Through this defined two-year apprenticeship model, students receive real-world education by working alongside industry experts while also earning their associate’s degree.

Participating CCC students are matched with an employer partner. A portion of the student’s pay for work completed at the shop is subsidized by the program. Students rotate between eight weeks of classroom / lab experience and eight weeks of full-day work-based learning at a participating collision repair facility.

Several body shops (both multi-shop operators and independents) as well as the Ford Certified Collision Network are participating in the program and promoting the opportunity to host a student apprentice at their shops. Any shops that are interested in participating are encouraged to contact collision chair Laura Lozano.