Auto Body Certification

Auto Industry Certification

Since 2000, the NS Automotive Sector Council has worked with Industry to address industry’s critical workforce development issues. On behalf of automotive employers, the Council provides leadership for recruitment, improved employee retention, certification and partnership development.

The ASC has been instrumental in moving the industry towards certification, and has been working with Industry, Collision Repairers, Automotive Glass Installers, Insurance Appraisers, Transmission Technicians, and Automotive Service Technicians to this end. The Collision Repair Association of Nova Scotia and the Automotive Human Resource Sector Council submitted an application to the Apprenticeship Board to specify the trade as compulsory certified. On August 4th, 2009, Motor Vehicle Body Repair (Metal and Paint) was specified as a compulsory certified trade in Nova Scotia.

Dale Crawford A/Director, Apprenticeship Training states,
“In order to build the number of journeypersons in the trade, in October 2007 the Department of Labour and Workforce Development began providing examination preparation courses and allowing those who qualify to write the exam to do so at no cost. Since that time, more than 100 motor vehicle body repairers have written the exam, with an 88 percent pass rate. The fees will continue to be waived until August 4^th, 2011. Although compliance and awareness initiatives will continue; an enforcement strategy will not be implemented until August 2011. This will allow for people who are already working in the trade with time to prepare and write the exam. “

Compulsory Certification Workforce Impact Study (2006)

The N.S. Automotive Sector Council, in partnership with provincial industry leaders and the Collision Repair Association of Nova Scotia (CRANS), completed Phase II on compulsory certification for the auto body and collision repair industry.

The Workforce Impact Study surveyed the demographics and apprenticeship status of the auto body workforce and incorporated provincial communication meetings for industry consultation. The open forum meetings provided Industry employers and employees, an opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback and raise any concerns.

A move to compulsory certification is designed to protect public safety and the environment. “In addition to ensuring public safety, an important benefit of compulsory certification,” says Marjorie Davison, Director, Apprenticeship Training, “is to promote training as a pathway to trade certification, increasing the breadth and depth of skills in the Nova Scotia workforce.”  Currently, there is no certification requirement for technicians by the Department of Education.

Nova Scotia is the fifth province in Canada to implement compulsory certification for the motor vehicle repair (metal and paint) trade.

Update: The Workforce Impact Study and Recommendations Report went before the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Board. The Board advertised in the Chronicle Herald in August 2006 to establish the Industry Adhoc Committee which subsequently reviewed the studies, and made a recommendation to the Nova Scotia Minister of Education.

Inquiries can be directed to Dale Crawford, Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency (902) 424-0872 or the Automotive Sector Council of NS Office
(1-877-860-3805)

Provincial Review Process:

• 3 Industry Advisory Committee Meetings
• 6 Provincial Industry Communication Meetings

(Yarmouth , Kentville, Bridgewater, Dartmouth, Truro and Sydney)

• Presentation to NS Apprenticeship Board
• CRANS Association presentation
• Industry Communiqués.

Research Findings

• 475 collision repair shops were included in the mailing
• 286 questionnaires returned by employees, from 118 separate business locations (15% sample of the total)
• By conservative calculation the total collision repair technician workforce in the 475 shops across the province is approximately 1,900
• In terms of age profile, nearly a quarter (24.4%) of the journeypersons surveyed are over the age of 50 years,
• This finding suggests that over 40% of the workforce, potentially as many as 760 or more individuals will require apprenticeship training or Section 30 challenge procedures when compulsory certification is introduced.

Table 1: Survey Population

Find all the report details in the Workforce Impact Study Final Report

Project Communication Documents

Benefits of Certification
CCIF Article
CCIF Presentation – by Corrie Robley Project Manager, June 24, 2006

Industry Advisory Committee Members

For more information, contact the Project Office:

Automotive Sector Council

192 Wyse Road
Dartmouth NS B3A 1M9
Toll Free: 1-877-860-3805
Telephone: (902) 464-0168
Fax: (902) 465-5734

Shannon Trites, Executive Director
Nikki Barnett, Operations Manager