By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario – May 2, 2019 — For the first time BMW Group Canada is offering the BMW Group Canada Body & Paint Pre-Apprenticeship Scholarship Programs in conjunction with Centennial College and five BMW Group Certified Collision Repair Centres (CCRC) in Toronto.
The top five students in the automotive collision and refinishing program from Centennial College qualified for the scholarship program. This gives each qualifying student the opportunity to work in one of the five CCRCs for the summer as well as a financial compensation towards their education. The program is jointly funded by BMW Group Canada’s Certified Collision Program and the CCRCs.
The five participating Toronto CCRCs include Pfaff Autoworks, Excellence Auto Collision, 427 Collision/Avenue Collision, European Autobody, and Heartland B&B Collision.
Just a couple of weeks ago, BMW Group Canada Certified Collision Repair Program specialist Gary Lin and BMW Group Canada regional development specialist – central region Todd Noble presented exclusive program jackets and backpacks to the five qualified students, Ken Jiansheng Liu, Arvin Vitug, Raymond Chow, Anthony Lee, and Denny Luong. Representatives from each of the CCRCs had the chance to meet the five students for the first time.
“It’s a new venture, it’s the first year that we’ve done it and we are quite proud of it. We’re trying to play an active role and entice young people into the industry,” said Noble.
“We’re just trying to do our part with getting young people involved in the industry and this is something that we really need right now. We need some youth in the industry and to get them excited about it. We need to also make sure that they are properly prepared to work with the new technology advancements in vehicles,” he said.
Noble told Collision Repair that the goal is for the students to start their career on the right foot in one of the state-of-the-art 21st-century collision repair centres.
Noble confirmed that BMW Group Canada is doing similar scholarship programs all over the country. “We have a similar program out west with Vancouver Community College and we are also looking at doing something similar in Quebec, but it has yet to be finalized,” he said.
