The Nevada Collision Industry Association (NCIA) has taken a giant step forward in solving one of the collision repair industry's thorniest problems - the trained technician shortage. 

NCIA's current focus is addressing the technician shortage in Nevada. As an alternative to recruiting qualified bodymen and painters at each other's expense, the association worked with local government to come up with a $10 million state appropriation to fund an I-CAR-sanctioned vo-tech program in the Las Vegas area.

NCIA's Executive Director Bob McCleary, a state legislator, helped facilitate funding efforts. "The industry in the state has really come together on this one," he said. "This includes a number of vendors that are making financial and product contributions to the program. While we wait for the brand new building to open in 2008, Green Valley Collision, for whom Mike and I work, has volunteered their facility to use until the training facility opens."

The statewide group has been in existence for approximately two-and-a-half years. It consists of 60-plus members distributed between two chapters, one covering the northern part of the state and the other covering the south, ensuring the entire state is well represented.

"Nevada is pretty large, and its population spreads far and wide," explained NCIA president Mike Rorman. "The association helps us get a collective handle on our industry and addresses concerns common to all of us. It unites us so we can determine ways our individual businesses can improve, without taking from each other."