Penberthy is the first female graduate of CCI’s apprenticeship program. In addition to 220 class hours, they completed 3,000 hours of on-the-job training at Fix Auto Yorba Linda as well as their I-CAR Pro Level 1 Certificate in Estimating.

According to Amber Ritter, chief operations officer of CCI, “The dedication of the employer, the shop employees, the on-the-job trainer and the overall commitment from the apprentices are what made this all possible. The commitment to pass on the knowledge to new entrants is what the apprenticeship is all about and cannot be done without the dedication of an entire team!

“Our apprenticeships have been measured and evaluated for knowledge and the ability to perform the job in a live production environment by a CCI instructor, the trainer at the shop, and a third-party evaluator. For this group of trainees, Verifacts has completed these evaluations not only throughout the program as checkpoints, but also a comprehensive evaluation at the end to ensure they retained all they learned.”

The graduation ceremony began with Ritter’s introduction and proceeded with an inspirational message from guest speaker Joe Espiritu, an apprenticeship consultant for the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Chris Kimball, regional manager, and Zach Serhal, estimator and apprentice trainer, presented and recognized the two graduates. CCI President Charles Robertson awarded their certifications. Erick Bickett, shop owner and CCI founder/CEO, delivered the closing remarks before everyone enjoyed a reception.

Regarding his experience with CCI, Stokes shared, “"Two years ago, I was making minimum wage and didn't really have much direction on what I wanted to do in life. I got connected with CCI, and now I have a great life ahead of me. The training is intense; however, the rewards are life-changing! CCI has made me a real-life, living testimony.”

CCI is also piloting a CCI Select model that will open up the curriculum and learning management software to collision shops interested in training and growing their own people.

Ritter stated, “We continue to modify our curriculum and processes to best fit the needs of the industry in a production environment.”

Bickett added, “With every graduate, we are part of adding one more skilled, qualified new entrant to our industry, changing lives and doing a small part towards solving industry crises with an industry solution.”

Congratulations Justin and Alison!