Paul Gage, the director of the collision repair program at Fayetteville (N.C.) Technical Community College, has resigned, pointing to the school’s close relationship with Caliber Collision as one of the reasons, according to a news report.
Gage told the Fayetteville Observer that the school became too closely aligned with Caliber, which operates the “Changing Lanes” program that trains active-duty military personnel for careers in the autobody industry.
“I’d be lying if I said that didn’t have something to do with my leaving,” Gage told the newspaper.
Gage, who led the collision repair program since it started three years ago, added: “The college and I had a different view of how the program should be run.”
The 18-week Changing Lanes training course is free to transitioning solders, who earn I-CAR points through a combination of instruction at Fayetteville Tech along with an internship at one of the Caliber Collision‘s Fayetteville production centers, according to the company. Fayetteville is home to Fort Bragg, the nation’s largest military installation, with more than 50,000 troops.
Gage told the newspaper that Changing Lanes was separate from Fayetteville Tech’s two-year associate degree program in collision repair, which is known as Collision U.
“There were two paths,” he told the Fayetteville Observer. “As we went forward, those two paths were starting to merge into one.”
Pam Gibson, dean of engineering and applied technology at the college, told the newspaper that Fayetteville Tech has a strong team that will make sure the program continues to go forward.
“We greatly value what Mr. Gage brought to the program, but his departure will not impact the program’s ability to continue to provide outstanding training to our students and employees for the industry,” she said.