CARSTAR recently hosted its second annual CARSTAR Day in partnership with AkzoNobel, 3M and Tropicana Employment Centre.

Hosted at AkzoNobel’s Coating Center in Etobicoke, Ont., CARSTAR Day encompassed an overview of opportunities in the industries, training in estimatics and some information on the importance of vehicle scanning. Product demonstrations from Peter Wrong, 3M, and the team at AkzoNobel also proved to be incredibly exciting to the students.

“Students who attended CARSTAR Day were incredibly engaged and eager to learn about the latest technology, ask questions to industry professionals and gain a better understanding about what life is like in the field,” said Jean-Marc Julien, Area Manager of Operations, CARSTAR. “CARSTAR understands the importance of prioritizing this new generation of collision repair specialists, as we know these students will soon be subject matter experts in the latest technologies that collision repairs facilities are incorporating into their operations.”

Growing youth interest in the collision repair field has been a top priority of the industry in recent years. Partnering with organizations like Tropicana Employment Centre and vendor partners like 3M and AkzoNobel are designed to help networks such as CARSTAR attract more youth to the industry—giving students a more fulsome understanding of what to expect. Additionally, suiting students up and getting them in the spray booth to paint, is a key hands-on experience students look for at these events.