Saskatchewan Government Insurance to fund auto body repair technician training

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) announced Wednesday it is providing nearly $80,000 for a pilot education program, designed for Aboriginal people and intended to help the collision repair industry recruit auto body repair technicians.

The new pre-employment auto body repair program, at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), will help “address the difficulties SGI and the auto body repair industry are experiencing in recruiting and retaining qualified journeyman auto body repair technicians,” stated the Minister Responsible for SGI, Don McMorris, in a release.

SGI said it is providing SIIT with almost $80,000 “to develop and deliver the program.”

The program “includes eight weeks of training and two weeks of direct work experience in an auto body repair shop.”

“SGI will also host the first wave of students at its Claims Technical Research facility in Regina, giving them six weeks of hands-on experience,” the insurer stated. “The 10-week program is designed to prepare Aboriginal people who are interested in a career in the auto body repair industry.”

SGI is partnering with the Saskatchewan Automobile Dealers Association (SADA) and the Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers (SAAR) to develop the program.

“SADA and SAAR provided guidance and expertise for development of the program and will assist graduates with finding employment in the auto body industry,” SGI reported.

“Students will leave the program with some basic hands-on skills and an understanding of job requirements,” SGI added. “The course will also teach them the safety and labour standards related to the job.”