A B.C. collision repair manager has joined educators and other employers to discuss how to prepare people for jobs in transportation trades.
Barb Murphy, operations and business development manager at Craftsman Collision, represented the North Vancouver-based repair chain at the Workforce Readiness and Transportation Trades Roundtable.
B.C. Lieutenant-Governor Wendy Cocchia and Vancouver Community College hosted the meeting. Participants from across Metro Vancouver discussed workforce development, community support, skilled trades and the role of education in preparing future workers.
Murphy’s participation was announced in a Craftsman social media post.
The discussion connects with existing training opportunities at both the college and the repair chain.
VCC offers foundation training in automotive collision repair and refinishing, along with apprenticeship programs for body repair, refinishing and automotive glass technicians. Other courses cover automotive parts, service advising and collision estimating.
Craftsman’s apprentice program provides access to a toolkit that participants can keep after completing their apprenticeship and another 12 months of continuous employment as a journeyperson.
Employees also have access to online courses and training delivered with industry suppliers.
Dawson Audette, an estimator featured on Craftsman’s careers website, described entering the business as a part-time detailer while still in high school. He later attended VCC for his first year of apprenticeship training.
“Craftsman paid for my education and offered me a job when I successfully completed it,” Audette said in the published testimonial.
