The ASE Education Foundation recently convened a workshop to review the tasks and tools used by ASE-accredited collision repair and refinish programs in high schools and colleges nationwide.
The review committee consisted of individuals representing vehicle manufacturers, collision repair and refinish shop owners and technicians, instructors and industry trainers and equipment and parts suppliers.
“We want to thank the committee members for working diligently to review and enhance our standards for collision repair and refinish program accreditation,” said Mike Coley, president of the ASE Education Foundation. “The updates reflect what is happening in the industry with new technologies like EVs and ADAS and will help collision repair and refinish students be better prepared to enter the workforce.”
One of the major outcomes was the creation of a new area of accreditation entitled “Collision Repair and Refinish Fundamentals.”
This new area includes 121 distinct skills/tasks and requires a minimum of 300 hours of combined classroom/lab instruction. It draws from the existing areas of accreditation but focuses on five core skill areas highly valued by employers: damaged vehicle disassembly, reassembly, small-dent repair, plastic repair and prep for refinish.
The new option gives schools and local businesses another path to prepare students for success in entry-level positions with skills that are in high demand, according to ASE.
The updated collision repair and refinish standards include new hybrid and electric vehicle safety tasks that are required for all students in ASE-accredited collision repair and refinish programs. Two new task sections in mechanical and electrical components also were also added for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and hybrid and electric vehicle service procedures.
