Todd Dillender is Chief Operating Officer of Caliber Collision, the largest multi-shop automotive repair and service brands group in the country. Driven by a passion for Caliber’s team and the industry, he has focused on delivering training, tools and support across the organization to help Caliber teammates grow and succeed.
Todd began his career in automotive repair like many—as a shop helper in the back of the shop, supporting technicians and learning the business firsthand. After working through multiple shop roles, the acquisition of Automotive International by Caliber Collision in the late 1990s brought into focus the tremendous opportunity this industry can offer. Prior to his current role, he served as Executive Vice President of Operations, responsible for 11 states across the western half of the country.
We’ve seen plenty about a technician shortage in the United States. Can you elaborate on its extent and why the collision repair industry is affected in particular?
Plain and simple – there is a shortage of almost 800,000 skilled technicians in the United States, and this number is expected to reach almost one million over the next five years. This includes a current shortage of around 30,000 collision repair technicians which is way too large of a shortfall for the U.S. to keep up with demand and ensure timely repair of cars that stay on the road and out of the shop.
My company, Caliber, is the largest multi-shop automotive repair and service brands group (including Caliber Collision and Caliber Auto Glass) in the country. We have more than 1,800 locations in 41 states, so we know just how real this shortage is. The demand for new technicians is driven primarily by the need to replace retiring or transitioning workers. Simply put, the industry is not replacing workers with highly skilled, aptly trained and experienced technicians at a fast enough rate.
Why does this matter? No one likes lines or high costs – nor costs that rise faster than typical inflation. This presents an interesting challenge but one that Caliber is hitting head on.
It is critical that we all find new and innovative ways to bring more technicians into the field and make sure they have the training required to meet today’s standards. Caliber has been a leading force behind this effort with our proprietary Technician Apprenticeship Program or TAP for short. TAP is our training program that pairs apprentices with experienced mentors for in-shop, hands-on and paid experience to learn and develop their skills to be ready for an immediate career in the collision repair field. Caliber’s TAP is the first and largest program in the collision repair industry to make meaningful progress to train the next generation of collision repair technicians.
We’ve been running this program for almost three years and have invested an aggregate of $65 million so far, with over 2,000 technicians having successfully graduated. We have no plans of slowing down. TAP has led to several enormous benefits and results so far, and we’re excited to see it continue.
Caliber’s technician training program is pretty expansive. Can you tell us more and how it is addressing this shortage?
TAP is designed to be a solution for the significant shortage of skilled collision repair technicians in the U.S. It is an innovative, differentiated and comprehensive program, distinguished in terms of scale, investment and engagement. We take great pride in what we’ve done with TAP, and we hope it’ll serve as inspiration for workforce development programs more broadly.
TAP is unique in that it is not based on time in the program. TAP is a competency-based program that focuses each apprentice on gaining the skills needed to start their journey to mastery. This program also provides a gratifying opportunity for our experienced technicians to pour their knowledge into young men and women, providing them with a stable career while creating a lasting legacy in the industry. I would say this has been one of the most rewarding parts of the program. The satisfaction they receive from mentoring young technicians (and being financially rewarded for doing so) leads to greater workforce stickiness and provides career options for our technicians that hadn’t existed before.
Back to the details, TAP offers apprentices hands-on experience in real-world settings, which provides a great alternative to traditional trade schools given the earning potential while training. The mentorship component is crucial because it fosters a supportive company culture and community of technicians. Throughout the program, apprentices receive the training they need from skilled mentors to enjoy a successful career in an amazing industry.
In addition, we provide and make sure apprentices complete the required, mandatory certifications to be compliant with industry-wide standards. And remember, apprentices are being paid during their training. TAP isn’t like extra course work or a vocational school where trainees need to pay exorbitant fees to learn. They are considered part of the team and a full employee from Day One.
After completing the program, graduates have the potential to earn more than many new college graduates — without the weight of student debt. Over 2,000 technicians have completed the program since 2023.
How does it shape up compared to other training programs or vocational schools in the industry?
We’re committed to making sure our industry has the manpower to not just survive, but to thrive and ensure customers can receive affordable and timely car repairs. Developing a steady pipeline of skilled workers through TAP is how we are meaningfully making progress to solve our industry’s labor shortage.
Taking a step back, why would a prospective young technician consider TAP over a more traditional training school or college degree? Through TAP, graduates can earn more than many new college graduates typically would – without all the expensive education debt. Everyone knows how expensive college degrees these days are, and vocational schools are on a very similar path. I know vocational schools in New York can run up to almost $40,000 per year! So, you either have to come up with that money before you have even started your career, or you can enter TAP, get paid to learn and start your career right away.
We know we need to incentivize the next generation to join our industry and learn the skills they need. This program helps make that decision much easier.
What does a typical day-to-day look like for an apprentice?
Because TAP does not take place in a typical classroom, every day can be different – that is the beauty of it and what most of us industry lifers love about the business! Apprentices learn and grow in a real-shop setting. Just like any typical day on the job, every day can be a new experience and a new opportunity to learn, develop and continue honing skills to be the best technician possible.
From a broad perspective, apprentices dive right in to complete the typical, advanced certifications to be eligible for work in the industry. These include safety training, customer service training, complex computer technology, calibrations, models for glass repair and more.
Is your training program meant to replace a gap in existing training? Are you trying to be the industry’s main source of new technicians?
Our training follows the standards set by many original equipment (“OE”) requirements and the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (“I-CAR”). Our goal is to take what we have as an industry and develop a more hands-on training format. Being an auto body technician is as much art as it is technical, and we believe we have a program that focuses on both in a way that sets up each apprentice for success.
TAP is lowering the cost and barrier to entry and trying to bring as many interested apprentices into the field as possible. I say it involves marketing because many younger people are not even aware of the opportunities that exist in collision repair.
We love our industry and know we can show them a path to learn, their earnings potential, and how much room there is to grow and develop a rewarding career. I am confident more aspiring technicians will enter the field. It’s not just the dirty jobs you see on the Discovery Channel. With modern cars becoming much more complex, this industry demands highly skilled workers that have the chance to work on some truly innovative things happening in collision repair. Cars are basically computers on wheels at this point, so there is ample opportunity for younger workers to get in on the ground floor of the transformation.
Caliber has locations all over the U.S. What is the scale of the company, the program and what can we expect going forward?
We have more than 1,800 locations across 41 states throughout the Caliber family, which includes Caliber Collision centers and Caliber Auto Glass. TAP is available at each center, and in fact, you’ll find a TAP graduate working at almost every Caliber location.
One thing I like to point out is that TAP is not Caliber’s only training program. It is pretty comprehensive itself, but we’re also laser focused on helping those that have selflessly sacrificed for our country through Changing Lanes. It’s another proprietary program that helps active service members transition to civilian life by providing technical training while they are still in the military. It’s a feeder program for TAP because once their service to our country is over, Changing Lanes participants enter TAP to complete their training, so they can start a new career.
In the last 18 months, this program has celebrated more than 100 former military members graduating – with all progressing to full-time jobs at Caliber. We’ve invested $1.5 million in Changing Lanes in the past 18 months, with over $5 million since we started Changing Lanes.
What is most important is that Caliber is committed to keeping cars safe and on the road. That only happens when we have the workforce to meet demand, so we’re fully committed to ensuring TAP, Changing Lanes and the industry more broadly, are doing everything possible to usher in the next generation of skilled technicians, because at Caliber, everything we do – from training and hiring to how we repair vehicles – ties back to our Purpose: Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life . It’s our North Star, and it’s what drives every investment we make in our people, our partnerships, and our communities.
