Service King Collision Repair Centers, as part of the organization’s commitment to creating and promoting gainful career opportunities in the automotive repair industry, recently graduated its inaugural class of apprentice technicians through the Service King Apprentice Development Program.
The class includes three body technicians, each of whom successfully completed a 52-week hands-on developmental program under the instruction of a dedicated apprentice technician supervisor inside Service King’s Northeast Dallas location. The class marks the company’s first of nine active Apprentice Development Program pilots set to graduate technicians across the country this summer as part of one of the country’s foremost technician training programs.
Service King is on pace to graduate more than 50 apprentice technicians through the program by the end of the year.
“This is an extremely proud moment in the young careers of these talented technicians who represent the future of Service King and our industry,” said Jeff McFadden, Service King president. “The Apprentice Development Program was built to provide an unprecedented avenue to rewarding careers as body technicians across our family of repair centers. We couldn’t be more proud of this class for paving the way for future technicians in the program and for taking the first step in a long, promising career.”
On the heels of the graduation ceremony, which was attended by several key members of Service King’s leadership team including CEO Chris Abraham, all three apprentice technicians will assume full-time roles at Service King locations across the DFW Metroplex.
Service King’s Apprentice Development Program, which has garnered media attention from The Dallas Morning News as well as CBS News Dallas affiliate KTVT, provides technicians with a learning curriculum complete with daily oversight by a veteran body technician. Veteran automotive technician Ralph Gonzales, who boasts a 20-year career in the field, oversaw the training and development of the Dallas graduating class, which launched in July 2014.
Apprenticeships at Service King locations across the country are capped at three students in a deliberate effort to provide intimate learning environments and promote direct oversight throughout the program. Meanwhile, students are also consistently measured with competency tests throughout their training.
Service King is currently in the midst of recruiting apprentices to begin classes this fall at locations across the U.S. To learn more about the program and additional Service King recruiting initiatives, including the organization’s dedicated veterans initiative, Mission 2 Hire, visit www.ServiceKing.com/careers.
