Ultimate Collision Opens Its Doors to the Next Generation of Repairers

Experience is key in success. Not just the experience one can gain from training, studying and perfecting a skill, but the experience one can get from listening, watching and learning from others, which can help shape the path one is meant to take. Ultimate Collision Repair in Edison wants to help make sure the next generation of collision repairers has the opportunity to see, learn and experience collision repair up close and in person. A big supporter of local magnet schools, such as the Middlesex County Magnet School in Piscataway where owner Jerry McNee serves on the Advisory Board, Ultimate Collision recently welcomed auto collision repair technology program students to tour the facility, meet the technicians and get exposure to an industry that can really offer a promising career. The shop has been welcoming Middlesex County Magnet students for years, but this past November’s visit had been the first since the pandemic. McNee and fellow collision repair specialist Anthony Thompson were pleased to see an enthusiastic amount of students walk through the doors – more than they remembered seeing in the past. They were also pleased to see a healthy amount of female students in the group, especially since there are gender gaps in most shops. In fact, Thompson says they were told that one of those students was noted for being “the best estimator in the class.” “Jerry took the class through the whole facility, showing them the different areas of the shop such as the teardown base, our first steps, to familiarize them with what life is like here,” Thompson explained. “We talked to them about estimating, repair procedures, ADAS and the importance of it,” added McNee. “We also spoke about painting techniques and paint quality, frame and speciality equipment and scanning.” Overall, the day in the shop was designed to “entice them a bit and show them that this could be a career for them,” also came up from the magnet school training as did Thompson. “It was such a good experience for the students,” confirms Auto Collision Repair Technology Instructor Sammy Lopez. “Jerry is a great contact to have. He really understands what the students need. Taking us through his shop allowed them to see what opportunities may lie ahead. Maybe they will even be the next Jerry McNee! The students got to witness jobs in progress, what kind of cars were being worked on and what types of technologies are used; they don’t easily have that opportunity otherwise.” Educational facilities can’t always easily keep up or make available the ever-changing technology in the industry, which is why it’s so important for the students to have an opportunity to visit shops, Lopez stressed. Today’s students are growing up in a different time. They are a part of the TikTok generation where they see 20-second clips of a car being flipped over and painted, but as Lopez points out, “It doesn’t happen that way, and that’s what we want them to know. This is a skilled trade. There are a lot of people who don’t realize that. Things need to be aligned, headlights need to be leveled and sensors calibrated. The industry has evolved to such a degree, and it’s so important to get out there with the students and show them how it is being done in the shops.”