Caliber Collision Centers, NHRA Champion Force Honor Individuals In The Mentors at Work

Caliber Collision Centers, an operator of high-quality collision repair facilities in California and Texas, recently honored two individuals for outstanding achievement in the collision repair industry.

Julio Gonzales and Scott Larkin, both first-year apprentices at Caliber’s Chino Valley, Calif. location, received MAC toolboxes worth $2,500 each for their outstanding progress in Caliber’s Mentors At Work apprenticeship program.

John Force, 13-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) champion top-fuel funny car driver presented the autographed MAC toolboxes to both apprentices.

Caliber filled the toolboxes with many of the tools most often used by collision repair technicians. “Tool costs can be a deterrent when attracting top quality people to this industry,” said Rick Reiss, vice president, Operations – California. “By offering a tool reward incentive package through our apprenticeship program, we have removed this barrier.”

Both Gonzales and Larkin are participating in the Caliber Mentors At Work apprenticeship program under the eye of J.C. Baccus, director of Technician Training for Caliber. Baccus is a veteran of 25 years in the collision repair industry.

Mentors At Work, founded in 2001 after 18 months of research and development, provides automotive repair and collision shops with a full plan for shop implementation of an online apprenticeship program, complete with attracting, training, retaining and tracking components.