HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The chairman of the Inter-Industry Conference On Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) Education Foundation Board of Trustees, Clark Plucinski, has issued the following open letter to the collision industry:
Career and Technical Schools and Colleges Need Your Support
I am writing to you today as both a collision repairer and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the I-CAR Education Foundation to ask you to actively show your support for continued Federal funding of career and technical education. I ask that you do so by contacting your representatives in both the U.S. House and Senate to let them know that this funding is crucial to the future success of your business and the many vehicle owners you serve on a daily basis.
The President’s 2007 Fiscal Year Federal Budget proposal once again seeks to eliminate funding for vocational education. If this funding for career and technical education programs is eliminated, valuable training that starts young people on the path to a rewarding career in this industry will be in jeopardy.
As you know, career and technical education programs are critical to the success of the collision industry and the necessary service we provide to millions of motorists. Each year, thousands of graduates from career and technical education programs find employment in our industry, in high-paying careers. Also, technical training curriculum provided by the I-CAR Education Foundation is recognized for college credit by academic institutions across the country, providing many high school students a head start in the pursuit of a higher education at both two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Research conducted by the I-CAR Education Foundation in 2004 showed that 36.7 percent of new technicians hired by collision repair facilities were hired from a career or technical school or college. If these programs are eliminated due to a lack of funding, consumers will suffer due to shortages of technicians that will result in increased prices for repairs and automobile insurance.
Automotive collision career educational programs teach rigorous academics, and have long been recognized as an essential part of preparing people for careers in the collision and insurance industries.
My business partner and I both participated in vocational education and are examples of the opportunities that exist for young people in the collision industry. After graduation from high school I was not ready for college. I quickly found, as did my business partner, that working with my hands was very gratifying and rewarding both personally and financially. Repairing cars allowed me to build a sense of pride and fulfillment.
Today, my business partner and I have built a business that employs over 600 people. We operate in four states with 41 locations. This success would not have been possible without the valuable vocational training we both received.
I hope you share my desire to see continued Federal funding for career and technical education continue and agree that it benefits the youth of our nation, our industry and the motoring public. Again, I ask that you take a few minutes to contact your elected representatives and urge them to support continued Federal funding for our young people’s education.
Thank you and you’ll be hearing from me again,
Clark Plucinski, Chairman
I-CAR Education Foundation Board of Trustees
Internet resources to write your representatives:
• U.S. House of Representatives —www.house.gov/writerep/
• U.S. Senate: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
• White House: [email protected]
• Automotive Service Association Legislative Site: www.takingthehill.com
