To support women in leadership roles in the collision repair industry, 3M Canada hosted the first Maritime Women in Collision Forum featuring special guest, France Daviault, Vice President of AIA Canada.

The event, held at the Fox Harb’r Resort in Nova Scotia, brought together 12 women from across the region. According to Catalyst Inc, women represent approximately 13 percent of employment in the automotive repair and maintenance industry in Canada compared to 7.3 percent in the United States. Additionally, in Canada, many collision repair shops are either owned or managed by women

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for open collaboration amongst women of influence in the collision repair industry”, said Andrew Burchell, 3M’s sales representative in Nova Scotia and PEI and co-organizer of the event.

Members gained valuable insights into the day-to-day operation of their collision repair centre while establishing new connections with fellow business leaders and mentors. Topics of discussion included OEM certification, employee retention strategies, production analysis as well as industry-related challenges identified by Daviault.

“Meeting with other women in my field was amazing,” said Kat Marshall, Production Manager with Fix Auto Fredericton. “We discussed the challenges of attracting talented employees as well as technology development and CCIAP certifications. It felt great to know women are not alone in our trade and we all face the same challenges.”