Collex Collision Experts has announced the opening of its Technical Training Center at 5923 East 14 Mile Road in Sterling Heights, Mich. All new Collex employees, including managers, estimators, parts specialists, customer service representatives and detailers will be trained at the 9,000-square-foot facility.
To kick off the Technical Training Center’s grand opening, Collex will host an open house as well as a tour of the 9,000-square-foot facility on May 2, 2013, from 3 to 8 p.m. At the grand opening, visitors can enjoy appetizers and refreshments. In addition, the Sherwin-Williams NASCAR Sprint Cup car will be on display.
The new Collex training center is unlike traditional vocational schools and is believed to be the first of its kind to be created and operated by an independent collision repairer.
“Many technicians in the collision repair industry are getting older, and eventually there will be a mass exodus of highly qualified workers,” said Robert Gagliano, chief operating officer. “The industry needs to do a better job of introducing itself and getting new technicians interested in collision repair.”
The grand opening comes at an opportune time, as employment of auto body/glass repairers in the U.S. is expected to grow more than 19 percent through the year 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means upwards of 32,000 new, well-paying positions will be created, along with many openings coming from existing workforce retirements or transfers to other fields.
“We’re looking to have the new training center be a learning center for not only the Collex technician of tomorrow, but also to help the industry as a whole,” said Gagliano. “It can be for young people coming out of high school, or those looking to transition from another field of work entirely.”
Michelle McMahon, Collex technical training manager, and her staff will facilitate the training program, which includes continuing education classes.
“With this new training center, Collex Collision Experts will bring a strong, hands-on mentoring approach,” said Gagliano. “It won’t be ‘Bodyshop 101’ right out of a manual; we’ll have many of our professionals – some with 20 or 30 years of experience – working side-by-side with our students to really understand the nuances of the business. We aim to see that our collision repair curriculum is pretty extensive. In addition to our own classes, we’ll be partnering with some of the industry’s finest education sources, such as Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes and 3M."
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