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Industry Employment a Priority �������������������
Abe Sells is a collision repair instructor at Tidewater Community College in Chesapeake, VA, teaching in the dual enrollment program at the Chesapeake Career Center.
His students and industry partners—vendors and local auto body shops—know Sells is in it to win it when it comes to making great things happen for everyone he encounters.
It’s a lot more than just a job for Sells.
“I like what I am doing and I guess it shows,” Sells said. “This industry has been good to me, and I want to help fill the void in the collision industry by creating career opportunity for them. When you see a young person embracing what I am teaching it is a great thing, and I want to tap into that as much as I can.”
Sells, 51, is constantly busy and enjoys the variety. When he isn’t teaching, he runs Dent Chasers, where he performs paintless dent repair (PDR) for his clients in the Chesapeake area. It works out well during the summer months when he is not teaching full-time.
It’s remarkable Sells ended up teaching collision repair classes because at first, carpentry was what he wanted to take at his local vocational school in Ohio. Auto body was his second choice and he had no interest in it.
After graduating from high school, Sells needed a job. His father worked two hours away at a steel mill. But Sells didn’t want to move and have to work as hard as his father did, so he thought maybe he should give collision repair another shot.
Sells started at $4.25 an hour, making $170 for a 40-hour week. Then he made $7 an hour, averaging 50-55 hours a week, making $380 a week—which meant he doubled his income and was moving in the right direction.
When Sells took ownership of his future, fortunate things started to happen for him in the collision field. In 2013, he was approached to run the collision repair program for Tidewater Community College. Working with the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), Sells was able to apply for grants that helped finance some of his equipment for the program.
“We have received grants through the past years ranging from $3,000 and up over the years, which really helped to strengthen my program with updated tools and equipment,” Sells said. “Starting out, we
had to find a facility for our program and a local career center had just closed their auto body program down. So TCC was able to lease and partner with Chesapeake Career Center to revive the program.
“Collision repair is a two-year program where we provide dual enrollment for high school kids and adults,” Sells said. “They both take the same course using the same curriculum at the same time.”
Sells appreciates the fact he is getting a self-motivated student in his classrooms, in most cases.
“We have a lot of former military people who take my class, so I get a better quality student,” he said. “In addition, even the high school students have to pay to take our program because they get college credits. When they graduate from college with a career study certificate, they also receive their I-CAR pro-level 1 and 2 certifications.”
When Sells started the program, the school had solid enrollment numbers, but students weren’t getting good placement in the job market, he said.
“My goal from the beginning was to create good quality technicians and fill the void,” Sells said. “That first year, I had 16 students and I got jobs for four of them, and now I make sure that 100% of my students get hired. It is important to us and our program that we create careers for these young people and set them up for ongoing success.”
Members of his advisory committee, industry partners and body shops offer praise and criticism as well, Sells said.
“We value their feedback and make changes to help accommodate their needs,” he said. “Employers often come and speak with the kids to offer possible employment opportunities when they graduate. Hiring them is the first step, but then retaining them is another part of the equation.
“I implemented several ideas for retention. One idea was putting a tool box with basic tools for entry level techs. They are given the
tools if a student stays with the company, say for six months to a year. The largest expense that a collision repair student will encounter is their tools. So $700-$1,000 on average for a tool kit, so helping them in that regard is a major deal.”
This summer, the Chesapeake Career Center held Camp Collision, a four-day camp hosting 11 rising freshmen and sophomores from local schools. Students were exposed to several parts of the collision field like welding, dent repair and panel replacement.
“This gives us an opportunity to expose them to the industry,” Sells said.
One of the projects Sells got them involved in was the design and painting of Tervis tumblers, which every student got to make and take home.
With classes of 26 students currently, Sells is hopeful he will be able to add more as the pandemic looks more and more like a thing of the past.
“Yes, the COVID set us back like it did at a lot of other schools,” Sells said. “But we are in a very good position because we have established a great repertoire with our business owners and industry partners. We have their support and the parents are onboard too—so I anticipate further growth and a very bright future here at Tidewater Community College and the Chesapeake Career Center.”
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