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St. Louis I-CAR Committee Hosts 2019 Job Fair by Chasidy Rae Sisk
On Friday, Sept. 27, the St. Louis ICAR Committee hosted its 2019 Automotive and Collision Job Fair at the World Wide Technology Race-
The St. Louis I-CAR Committee’s 2019 Job Fair provided students with an opportunity to interview with 29 industry partners. Credit: St. Louis I-CAR Committee
way in Madison, IL. Shelly Jones, chair for the St. Louis I-CAR Committee, commented, “In my opinion, this was our best year yet. This is the first year that we had schools contacting us to participate. The word is out that this job fair is the perfect opportunity for students to make connections in the industry while having fun at the race track.” Gene Slattery, education coordinator for the Committee, added, “The 2019 St. Louis I-CAR Job Fair was put on by our sub-committee, in partnership with NHRA/World Wide Technology Raceway, in order to See I-CAR Committee, Page 18
Service King Wears the Crown at CREF Top Tech Mentor and Mentee Competition by Chasidy Rae Sisk
The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) hosted its inaugural Top Tech Mentor and Mentee Competition at Ranken Technical College in St. Louis on Saturday, Sept. 28. Christen Battaglia, director of strategic partnerships for CREF and event organizer said, “The goal of the competition was to recognize the performance of the next generation of collision technicians and their mentors on critical skills necessary to repair today’s high tech vehicles. Mentor and mentee teams performed
and were tested on competencies the industry has deemed necessary for an entry-level technician. CREF wants to promote mentoring and celebrate the companies and people who are preparing the next generation of collision techs.” “For a first-time event, everything went seamlessly,” Battaglia added. “It went really well. We had nine teams competing, compared to our goal of ten to 12 teams, which was great, though we would have liked to see some participation from local shops. The event ran from 8:30
AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 9 / Issue 2 / November 2019
Speakers Discuss Need to Know, Follow OEM Calibration Steps for ADAS by John Yoswick
George Lesniak, Autel’s director of sales and training, said one of the biggest challenges for shops working to follow OEM collision repair procedures—in particular, the steps necessary for calibration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)—is the variation among automakers. “There’s a complete lack of consistency across the different OEMs when it comes to their service information: where that information is located, where you find the procedures and specifications,” Lesniak said during the recent Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) “Connex” conference. But some of the challenges shops encounter in following OEM proce-
dures, he said, has little to do with that inconsistency in how the information is organized. “The one thing that I’ve found to be very consistent is technicians’ ability to skip steps,” Lesniak said. “The key skill set required to do calibrations is the ability to read, interpret and follow complex instructions and make detailed measurements. Knowing how to use a metric tape measure is absolutely foreign to most technicians. We’ve found that 50 percent of calibration failures come down to missing or skipping steps in those preliminary instructions.” Those steps, he said, include having the required space with the right environmental conditions, such as proper lighting, and ensuring that nothing is interfering with the field See Speakers Discuss, Page 20
Collision Repair Shops Learn How to Attract, Retain Military Veterans by John Yoswick
Collision repair businesses of all sizes have a potential talent pool of new employees, including those conclud-
See Service King, Page 22
Roxann Griffith of the Department of Labor said military veterans can be a good source of new employees for collision repair businesses of all sizes.
ing their service in the U.S. military, according to a speaker at this past summer’s Collision Industry Conference in Indianapolis.
Roxann Griffith, with the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment and training services, said Texasbased Service King, which operates more than 340 shops in 24 states, has hired hundreds of veterans over four years. Griffith encourages body shops to hire those who have served our country in any capacity by sharing tips and resources with collision repair businesses on how to hire and retain those who have exited the military. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program, for example, offers free hiring fairs on military bases and at other locations around the country, she said. Those looking to hire veterans should check out the advice and resources included in the free 22-page See Military Veterans, Page 42
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