A pair of $25,000 donations from CSAA Insurance Group and G&C Auto Body are accelerating efforts to train future collision repair professionals at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA, as part of a national push to address the industry’s technician shortage.
The funding, announced by the Collision Engineering Career Alliance, will directly support educational resources and real-world training opportunities for students enrolled in the program at the college. In addition to its financial gift, CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA insurer, also donated two salvage vehicles to be used for hands-on instruction.
“CSAA is a respected industry insurer, supporter and partner of the Collision Engineering Career Alliance, and we are immensely grateful for its donation,” said Mary Mahoney, vice president of Enterprise Mobility and leader of the Collision Engineering Career Alliance. “Our industry expects the need to fill more than 100,000 collision technician jobs in the next three years — no one can solve this problem alone.”
Mahoney emphasized the importance of industry collaboration to meet workforce needs and praised CSAA’s commitment to supporting talent development. “Together with more industry partners, we can build the next generation of highly skilled collision repair professionals in more communities across the U.S.,” she said.
CSAA Insurance Group echoed this sentiment during a check presentation held at Contra Costa College.
“Our support of the Collision Engineering Career Alliance demonstrates our commitment to developing the next generation of vehicle repair professionals who will maintain the highest industry standards through meaningful, rewarding industry careers,” said Dan Tessadri, senior manager of auto process and performance for CSAA.
At the same event, G&C Auto Body unveiled its own $25,000 contribution to the program.
“We are grateful for all donations and look forward to unlocking more educational resources for our students,” said Laura Lozano, an instructor at Contra Costa College. “The program has seen tremendous success with growing recognition in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
Contra Costa College was among the original pilot sites when the Collision Engineering program launched in 2020. Since then, the initiative has expanded to schools in Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska and North Carolina.
The Collision Engineering Career Alliance aims to grow that network further, with the goal of building sustainable career pathways and removing barriers to entry in the collision repair field.
More information about the program is available at www.beacollisionengineer.com.
