Caliber Collision’s Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) has graduated its 2,000th repairer, reaching a milestone not only for the company but for the industry, according to Eddie Hightower, Caliber’s senior vice president for sustainability and social responsibility.

TAP is a free, competency-based, one-on-one apprenticeship program that’s offered year-round. TAP provides on-the-job and I-CAR training. Participants graduate as qualified, entry-level Caliber technicians with three certifications. Apprentices are paid while training and receive full teammate health and retirement benefits and time off.

The program was created to help address the nationwide shortage of collision repair technicians. According to TechForce Foundation’s 2023 Technician Supply & Demand Report, 110,000 collision repair and 495,000 automotive technicians are needed to meet demand through 2027.

The first full year of TAP occurred in 2022, and 1,000 students graduated by November 2023.

“We consistently have about 1,800 apprentices in the program at any given time across the United States,” Hightower said. “We’re expanding our training programs into our other lines of business like glass and ProTech… and service advisor training. That’s a big one we kicked off last year. We’re getting more and more people into the adjacent things… to make sure that we continue to attract people into the industry, we keep them in the industry, and that they really benefit from being in the industry.”

Texas technician Rashard was Caliber’s 2,000th TAP graduate.

“I don’t have to do odd jobs because I have obtained not only knowledge but a career,” Rashard said. “I also gained the confidence to be a certified technician.”

Each apprentice is paired with an experienced mentor technician. Caliber says the pairing also fosters leadership development for mentors while also improving retention rates within the company and the industry.

However, finding enough mentor technicians for TAP is an ongoing challenge, according to Hightower.

“The most skilled technicians are not only the best at what they do but they’re also the best being mentor technicians because they know all of the tricks of the trade, they know all of the skills,” he said. “We have developed many incentives to attract new mentor techs into the program and to keep mentor techs in the program by offering some fairly healthy success bonuses.”

Caliber also found early on that techs were hesitant to become TAP mentors because of the potential expense of replacing tools in their collection if apprentices inadvertently break them. In response, Caliber began equipping its TAP shops with tools for the apprentices.

“That’s also something that we learned from our apprentices — building their first sets of tools was really important, so within the first 90 days, we equip the apprentices with their own tools,” Hightower said.

Caliber maintains partnerships with companies like Snap-on and Car-O-Liner to provide apprentices with tools and training.

As for the program’s future, Caliber is confident 3,000 techs will graduate by early next year, he added.

Going forward, Hightower said that the focus for TAP will be on attracting more mentor techs. Regarding technician recruitment overall, Caliber plans to partner with K-12 school districts to get the word out about TAP and the skilled trades.

Caliber is also working on policy issues in Washington, D.C. including efforts to modernize the Apprenticeship Act and making some changes to tax policy.

Modernizing the Apprenticeship Act would make it possible for other skilled trades employers to offer federally registered and recognized apprenticeship programs, Hightower said. Tax policy changes would benefit employers who build out apprenticeship programs.

NAPA also recently launched a website to promote automotive trades recruitment called “Tools of the Trade.”

The auto parts distributor calls it a “one-stop digital toolbox filled with all the resources, insights, and advice to help kickstart a promising career in the automotive trades.”

The website includes scholarship information and videos from current automotive techs about what it’s like working in the industry.

Images

Featured image: Rashard, a Caliber Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) participant, was recently the 2,000th graduate of the program. (Photo provided by Caliber)