Program

Auto Body Shop, College Working in Tandem to Transform Collision Repair Program

Collision repairers sometimes grouse about the body shop training programs at schools in their area. But Justin Clubb didn’t just complain. He did something about it. Speaking as part of a panel discussion at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, Clubb, general manager of Deery Collision Center in Burlington, IA, said he’d served for some time on the advisory council for the collision program at nearby Southeastern Community College. He came to realize, however, the program seemed to be more about “restoration” and “working on stuff that is not relevant to the collision industry.”

When the school announced a new dean, Ashlee Spannagel, for its career and technical education programs, Clubb asked to meet with her. Spannagel told CIC attendees at the meeting she previously knew nothing about the collision repair industry other than being “a frequent flier of Campbell’s Auto Body, because I kept running into things.” But she had concerns of her own about the collision program when in response to her own question at an advisory council meeting,

Shop Showcase she was told “OSHA didn’t apply to the industry.” with Ed Attanasio “I knew nothing, but I did know enough that OSHA did apply,” Spannagel said. “That was the biggest thing I had to do as a leader and educator, to figure out how to Social Media for Shops not be so ignorant about this industry,” even while overseeing dozens with Ed Attanasio of other degree and certificate programs at the school as well. Clubb spent a lot of time working with Spannagel, and helped connect her with contacts at I-CAR, SEMA Show Goes On Tradiebot, the Collision Repair ucation Foundation (CREF) and Edthe with Ed Attanasio Justin Clubb of Deery Collision in Iowa has been helping improve the collision repair trainASE Education Foundation. Along with faculty and othing program at community college in his area er volunteers, the two spent hours moving and sorting through dozens of totes of tools and supplies stored in the program’s shop, includingMedia and Publicity for Shops with Ed Attanasio 3,000 rolls of electrical tape, and more than 12 pallets of bulk tools. “If you need 800 10-millimieter wrenches, I am your girl. I know where they are,” Spannagel said, soliciting laughter from CIC attendees. About 18 months later, she said, their combined efforts have “completely transformed” the school’s collision repair program.

“We now have invested over $500,000 into a state of the art facility,” Spannagel said. “We now have a relationship with the industry. The industry before was specifically telling us that our students were not what they needed, but in some cases, we simply weren’t listening. We are listening now. We are acting now. We are changing as a result of that. We are undergoing a curriculum revision right now. As a result, we will have better qualified students, more well-equipped students, and more students in the future.”

Clubb and Spannagel agreed

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