Department hosts job fair

Career with Cars plans to shift automotive collision repair career opportunities in "drive," with a free, on-campus event to be held in the Automotive Technology Center on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


The event will offer students a chance to behold the fulfilling career possibilities in the automotive collision repair field.

Local businesses, such as Hunter Alignment, the 3M Corporation and the California Color Source, will also be on site to promote their businesses and hire students from the program.


Some positions offered include paint technician, damage estimator, body repair technician and detail technician. The event, hosted by the college's automotive services department and the East Bay chapter of the California Auto Body Association, is open to all members of the community, especially prospective students, automotive services department Chairman Peter Lock said.


According to Lock, promotion of the program has already reached high schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.


"We are trying to get people to see that it's (automotive collision repair) a clean and safe trade to get into and the money is good," Lock said.


Experienced technicians can earn anywhere from $50,000-$80,000 a year, including benefits, he said.


"Our goal is to pull high school students willing to participate in a post-secondary program, so that they can be recruited to the auto collision repair industry for the showcased opportunities," said Greg Decker, president of the California Color Source and co-organizer of the event.

Demonstrations and activities pertaining to job positions will also be offered, along with presentations from local businesses.

Welding, painting, damage estimating, detailing, custom painting and an hourly hands-on airbag deployment display will be among some of the demonstrations, Lock said.


"The demonstrations would be pretty impressive to people who haven't seen it before," ASU Senator and automotive services student Jim Gardner said. "Anyone who has a love for cars and sees what the department has will be impressed."

In addition to the demonstrations, there will also be random raffle prize drawings, free T-shirts to the first 200 attendants and a lunch barbecue, which will be provided courtesy of Contra Costa College's culinary arts department.


Though the event is free, all who are willing to attend are required to apply prior to the event and are encouraged to do so by filling out a registration form provided on the Career with Cars Web site, www.careerwithcars.com.

Contact Brent Bainto at bbainto.advocate@gmail.com.