St. Louis—The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced the winning teams at the inaugural Top Tech Mentor/Mentee Competition that was held Saturday, September 28 at Ranken Technical College in St. Louis, Mo. The goal of the competition was to recognize the performance of the next generation of collision technicians and their mentors on critical skills necessary to repair today’s high tech vehicles. Mentor and mentee teams performed and were tested on competencies the industry has deemed necessary for an entry-level technician.
The first place team included Bradford Amison, mentee technician and Frank Allen, mentor, from Service King in Leander, Texas. Amison, who graduated from WyoTech in Laramie, Wyo., has been a mentee for two years. Allen, who has been mentoring young technicians for over 20 years, feels strongly that with a good mentoring program we are able to encourage individuals to enter and become skilled in the trade.
The first-place team will receive $2500 for each team member and the sponsoring business will receive a Chief PNP90 riveting tool valued at $8,000.
“I want congratulate all the teams that competed in the Top Tech Mentor/Mentee competition,” said Christen Battaglia, director of strategic partnerships for the Collision Repair Education Foundation. “Their energy and expertise is a shining example of how collision industry mentoring programs help new technicians succeed. I would also like to thank the sponsors of the event. Without their generous support we would not have been able to celebrate the success of these talented technicians and their mentors.”
“Having a strong pipeline of skilled collision repair technicians is critical to the long-term growth of the automotive industry,” said Troy Weaver, Axalta VP of Global Refinish. “Axalta is proud to be a part of the solution by supporting the young men and women who receive training from the CREF and who compete in their skills tests. The skills they are learning today will be invaluable assets for the collision repair industry tomorrow.”
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