Universal Technical Institute is an ASE and NATEF-accredited collision repair college with nine campuses nationwide. UTI offers students the opportunity to work on both foreign and domestic cars using the latest equipment, and its inclusion of business skills courses ensure that future collision repair techs have the skills necessary to run a successful shop. UTI's strong industry connections means that students at select campuses can add manufacturer-specific training to the curriculum to gain an edge on the post-graduation job search.
Also known as Lincoln Technical Institute, this collision repair program employs certified technicians to give hands-on lessons to enrolled students. Lincoln has nationwide locations, with campuses in the Midwest, Florida, Georgia and Denver, Colo., just to name a few. Some of the training courses included on the path to this collision repair certification are technological innovations, body construction, surface preparation, welding, cutting and dent repair. Lincoln also offers a placement assistance program to its graduates.
WyoTech is another trade school with nationwide campuses, and NATEF-certified collision repair training is available at the Laramie, Wyo., Blairsville, PA and Sacramento, Calif. locations. One unique aspect of this program are the separate collision repair and refinishing modules that teach both restoring and refinishing skills. Graduates from one of these branches are trained to work in concentrations such as trim and upholstery, applied service management, and motorsports chassis fabrication or street rod and custom fabrication.
Students who choose to enroll in the Collision Repair Technology program at New England Tech can be awarded an associate's degree in as little as 18 months. Basic to advanced areas of auto body technology are covered at this school, including body damage repair, frame and unibody repair, glass installation and paint refinishing. Business and management classes are included, and satellite training is available. New England Tech offers day and evening classes to accommodate busy students.