Axalta Partners with Collision Repair Education Foundation to Promote Industry Careers

Company donated $30,000 to Foundation in 2024, sponsored career fair and provides uniforms to promote professionalism.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA) sponsored a Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) career fair at West-MEC High School in Phoenix, Ariz. earlier this school year, connecting nearly 200 collision repair, automotive technology and diesel students with potential employers.

The event led to job shadowing opportunities for students and is expected to result in employment offers, according to school officials.

“Students were very excited to get the one-on-one time with the companies,” said David Melian, collision instructor at West-MEC High School. “The industry partners in attendance were very receptive to our students’ opening opportunities for them to shadow at their facilities which we did this spring, and I anticipate that some students will receive employment offers through the connections they made.”

The career fair was organized by the Collision Repair Education Foundation, which hosts similar events nationwide to connect students with industry employers. Axalta has supported CREF since 2013 and donated $30,000 to the foundation in 2024.

Keith Bell, business director of distribution and industry relations for North America at Axalta, said the company views career fairs as critical to supporting the collision repair industry’s workforce development.

“Career fairs are critical in the wider scheme of our support for CREF and its key aim to inspire individuals with drive, dedication and skills in the collision repair industry,” Bell said. “For our industry in particular, it is so important to help young people understand the variety of options they’ll have by pursuing a career in the collision repair industry.”

Bell, who started as a vocational-technical student, joined CREF’s Board of Trustees in 2022 and serves on the Fundraising Committee.

Axalta also provided branded technician shirts to all students who attended the Phoenix career fair. The company sponsors uniform programs at collision repair schools as part of its support for student professionalism.

“Wearing a uniform helps to foster a feeling of team and of unity,” Bell said. “In a uniform, you immediately feel more professional and carry yourself with more self-esteem while wearing it with pride.”

CREF research indicates uniforms can improve student motivation and are linked to increased graduation rates, according to the foundation.

“It was very generous of Axalta to supply all of our students with tech shirts,” Melian said. “Our students enjoy wearing them, and we’ve received compliments about how they add a higher level of professionalism to our students.”

Melian said the career fairs provide value beyond immediate employment connections by demonstrating industry interest in students’ careers.

“Company participation reinforces what we teach and gives value to students who are given the opportunity to speak directly with the shops,” he said. “Students’ attitudes change when they see opportunity, and it gets them excited when the companies are interested in speaking with them.”

The events also give employers access to entry-level talent, Melian noted.

“It is very important for collision companies to form partnerships with our programs and participate in our advisory committees to provide their invaluable input,” he said. “With that input, we can improve our program as trends change.”

Axalta’s 2024 donation to CREF included funding for the foundation’s general fund, which supports enhanced training programs, equipment and scholarships for collision repair students. The company also sponsors CREF’s annual golf fundraiser.

Bell said the foundation’s work is increasingly important as automotive technology advances and creates new training requirements.

“Car manufacturers are truly driving innovation in the collision repair industry – the technology in vehicles today is a million miles away from what it was five or ten years ago – so I can’t overstate the importance of the work that CREF does,” he said.