>>> INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
COLLISION COAST TO COAST HOW LUCR ATIVE IS THE EVERYDAY APPRENTICE?
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t’s no secret Canada is amid a skilled worker shortage. No trade is safe—not even the glistening metallics and sparkling headlights of collision repair. Check out Bodyworx’s compilation on the state of apprenticeship enrolment across Canada.
RED SEAL RATES ACROSS CANADA As of 2019, the certification rate for Red Seal Motor Vehicle Body Repairers was 25.3, meaning every 1.5 years (the duration of the average Red Seal certification program) 25.3 new Red Seal certified autobody repairers. The most popular Red Seal trade, Powerline Technician, held a certification rate of 62.1 every 1.5 years, as of 2019.
British Columbia Between 2020 and 2021 the Pacific province’s Industry Training Authority (ITA) witnessed a massive uptick in its number of active apprentices in automotive refinishing. The 2020/2021 study cycle reported 48 automotive refinishing technicians; in the next report, that number hopped to 139. Other verticals of collision repair reported 16 apprentices (Automotive Refinishing Prep Technician), 267 apprentices (Automotive Glass Technician) and 338 apprentices (Auto Body and Collision Technician).
Manitoba Red River College’s most recent Graduation Satisfaction and Employment data from the 2018/2019 term reported 28 graduates in the Collision Repair and Refinishing program. All but one of the students who responded to their college’s post-graduation survey were employed in training-related occupations, reported Red River.
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Alberta Alberta’s 2020 data showed a minor increase in autobody apprentice enrolment. In 2020, there were 490 new autobody technicians, 23 new preppers, 75 new refinishers and 44 new repairers. All categories, save for preppers and repairers, were up in 2020. Overall, Alberta’s autobody apprenticeship status was up two percent.
Saskatchewan In June 2019, the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) reported 119 Auto Body and Collision Technicians. By June 2020, it counted 145, thanks to 46 indentures and only four cancellations. Sixteen apprentices finished their programs and graduated with certification by the first six months of 2020, says SATCC. In the Automotive Refinishing Technician role, SATCC noted only two apprentices in June 2019 and again in June 2020.
