The Collision Repair Education Foundation has created a new designation program called the “Collision School Career Readiness Benchmark.” Under the new program, schools will be classified into three tiers – Tier 1: Advanced, Tier 2: Proficient or Tier 3: Developing. The designation will be determined by the Foundation based upon information provided by schools on the Collision Repair Education Makeover grant application about the capabilities of their program.

The criteria for each level will focus on the number of hours of instruction and curriculum in place, along with what tools, equipment and supplies a school uses to prepare their students for employment in the collision industry. If there is something that’s missing, the grant application will allow a school to request that particular item. The goal is to help every school acquire the resources to eventually achieve a Tier 1: Advanced school designation. School designations will be announced in July 2016, and the Makeover grant recipients will be announced in November 2016.

“In June 2015, the Foundation Board of Trustees made the decision to adjust the Foundation’s mission to focus not only on grants and donations, but also on bridging the employment gap,” said Clark Plucinski, Collision Repair Education Foundation executive director. “The new focus will be on getting the right grants/donations into each school to better prepare the students for entering the collision industry. This new designation program ties into the new focus and will better determine what items each school is in need of that will ultimately benefit the students.”