For many employers, real-world experience is the number one thing they look for in new hires. And for high school students considering a career in Automotive Collision Repair, real-world experience is exactly what they need to understand if a career in auto body is right for them. Combining these concepts, along with the already established partnership between D&S Automotive and Auburn Career Center’s Auto Collision Repair Program, D&S hosted its very first After-Hours training session with several students from the program on Wednesday.
Sure to be the first of many of these sessions, Justin Bruno, Auburn’s Collision Repair Instructor, and students along with some parents arrived to the smell of pizza waiting for them, ready to fill their hunger and get their minds prepared for some hands-on experience and instruction. Following dinner, the students were given a tour of the shop and an overview of D&S Automotive’s unique repair process.
However, arguably the most beneficial part of the night was when students broke out into two groups to get some hands-on experience with some of D&S’ veteran body men. During demonstrations with the Technicians, students were encouraged to ask questions about anything – repair techniques, what it’s like to work for a Collision Center, and how to find the best career path for their skills and interests. Some students even decided to try out sanding techniques themselves. While this evening served as an introductory session, D&S and Auburn plan to hold many more sessions similar to this and gradually include more hands-on, real-life repair opportunities for the students to practice while the students are engaged.
Pursuing a career as an Auto Body technician can be surprisingly lucrative, especially as demand for these skilled workers continues to rise. Because of this, D&S Automotive cannot commend the Auburn Career Center Auto Collision Repair program enough on their creative efforts to give their students real life perspective on what a career in auto body would look like first-hand. We are so happy to have the relationship with Auburn and look forward to helping to grow the next generation of auto body technicians.