The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) announced that BMW of North America has joined I-CAR’s Sustaining Partner Program. The program is designed for partners to demonstrate advocacy and provide funding for I-CAR’s work executed across the industry, which have lessened the need for price increases in an era of high inflation. The program was also established to provide partners access to the complete array of I-CAR’s relevant technical education and service resources and benefits OEM partners with successive talent engagement and cost mitigation for collision repair facilities adhering to network training requirements.
I-CAR’s role as an educational programming provider for the collision repair industry with support from partners in the OEM segment is critical for addressing the Technical Tsunami with comprehensive training programs that focus on the latest advancements in automotive technology, repair techniques and safety standards. Sustaining Partners essentially power I-CAR’s industry-founding vision that every person in the collision repair industry has the information, knowledge and skills required to perform complete, safe and quality repairs for the ultimate benefit of the consumer.
Sustaining Partners help fund I-CAR curriculum and student fees in career and technical schools, which have become I-CAR fixed training sites; that funding exceeds $3 million since 2018. Sustaining Partners also fund all Industry Training Alliance training credits since the end of 2019 for individuals who train with curriculum from approved Industry Training Alliance partners, amounting to significant savings plus the elimination of redundant training for those individuals and businesses.
“BMW’s addition to I-CAR’s Sustaining Partner Program underscores its commitment to funding programs that contribute to the sustainability of collision repair facilities,” explained Joyce Pagtaconan, I-CAR director of OEM & international segment sales. “We are thrilled to welcome BMW as a Sustaining Partner and look forward to working closely with them,” she added.
As a not-for-profit, neutral organization, I-CAR’s primary objective for the initiative, which has grown to 53 Sustaining Partners from various collision repair industry segments, is to offer a funding program that shoulders the cost of training driven by repair complexity and vehicle innovations so collision repair facilities can benefit from the collaboration of like-minded organizations to address industry issues.
A list of I-CAR Sustaining Partners can be found here.
