Collision Career Institute (CCI) and I-CAR announced a partnership to help collision repair businesses accelerate workforce development and improve apprenticeship outcomes.
Through this collaboration, CCI will provide critical information for a successful program. This “first step” implementation service complements I-CAR’s Academy and supports shops participating in the I-CAR Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), launched over the summer.
RAP is a two-year structured training program that combines paid, on-the-job learning with related technical instruction, leading to a nationally recognized credential from the U.S. Department of Labor. As a National Apprenticeship Hub, I-CAR can provide a seamless path for shops to offer RAPs and while supplies last will equip eligible shops with incentive packages through the DOL grant on a first-come, first-served basis.
Participating shops may qualify for state tax incentives or grants aimed at businesses with registered apprenticeship programs.
“We spent the last six months or so working on a structured program so that we can support any repairer in this industry in having their shop become a Department of Labor recognized employer and running an official registered apprentice program,” Dara Goroff, vice president of planning and industry talent programming at I-CAR, said at a CIC meeting earlier this year. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 10 employees, it doesn’t matter if you have 3,000 employees, we are here to be able to help you.”
To help shops succeed in implementing the apprenticeship program, CCI will deliver an Assessment & Evaluation Package designed to align shop culture, mentor strengths and apprentice candidate fit before training ramps up.
The package includes a short, shop-wide Culture Survey (three to five minutes per person), deeper Work Style Assessments (about 45 minutes each) for mentors and candidates, a consolidated insights report, and a virtual review with recommendations tailored to each location.
How it works: After I-CAR approves a participating shop, CCI will manage all downstream activity — contacting the shop, guiding them through the steps, coordinating reminders, analyzing results and presenting findings with clear next actions — so shops can move confidently from onboarding to on-the-job development.
Charlie Robertson, president and director of product development with CCI, told Autobody News the organization had been independently helping shops address challenges around mentor development, cultural readiness and apprentice fit.
“I-CAR recognized the value in these services and collaborated with CCI to align them with the RAP onboarding process,” Robertson said, leading to the creation of the Assessment & Evaluation Package.
When piloted with a group of shops participating in the early stages of I-CAR’s RAP rollout, the package “helped refine the workflow and confirmed that cultural assessments, mentor/candidate work style evaluations, and compatibility analysis can meaningfully impact shop readiness,” Robertson said.
“Feedback from participating shops and I-CAR team members has been positive — particularly regarding the clarity of the custom reports, the insight into mentor/apprentice fit, and the value of the virtual consultation,” he added. “These insights are now guiding the next phase of RAP implementation.”
“This partnership meets shops where they are and sets apprentices up for success from day one,” said Erick Bickett, CEO of CCI. “By matching mentor strengths to candidate learning styles and confirming cultural readiness, we help the whole team gain traction faster — so training sticks and careers grow.”
“I-CAR is committed to practical solutions that advance talent pipelines for the industry,” said Goroff. “Working with CCI to streamline assessment and readiness helps shops translate training into performance — benefitting employees, employers and customers alike.”
