autobody

	Auto Body Repair Diploma
Course and Hour Requirements Significant Points Nature of the Work Job Opportunities Additional Information	The Autobody Repair curriculum provides training in the use of equipment and materials of the autobody repair trade. The student studies the construction of the automobile body and techniques of autobody repairing, rebuilding, and refinishing. Course work in this program includes autobody fundamentals, industry overview, and safety. Students will perform hands-on repairs in the areas of non-structural and structural repairs, MIG welding, plastics and adhesives, refinishing, and other related areas. Graduates of the curriculum should qualify for entry-level employment opportunities in the automotive body and refinishing industry. Graduates may find employment with franchised independent garages, or they may become self-employed.
	SIGNIFICANT POINTS Employers prefer to hire persons with automotive body repair training. Good reading and basic mathematics skills are needed to follow instructions and diagrams in technical manuals.
	NATURE OF THE WORK Automotive body repairers use special equipment to restore damaged metal frames and body sections. Repairers chain or clamp frames and sections to alignment machines that use hydraulic pressure to align damaged components. "Unibody" vehicles, designs built without frames, must be restored to precise factory specifications for the vehicle to operate correctly. To do so, repairers use bench systems to make accurate measurements of how much each section is out of alignment and hydraulic machinery to return the vehicle back to its original shape. Body repair work has both variety and challenges - each damaged vehicle presents a different problem. Using their broad knowledge of automotive construction and repair techniques, repairers must develop appropriate methods for each job.
	JOB OPPORTUNITIES Employment of automotive body repairers is expected to increase about as fast as average for all occupations through the year 2008. Opportunities should be best for persons with formal training in automotive body repair and mechanics. Demand for qualified body repairers will increase, as the number of motor vehicles in operation continues to grow in line with the Nation's population. With an increase in the number of motor vehicles in use, the number of vehicles damaged in accidents will also increase. New automobile designs increasingly have body parts made of steel alloys, aluminum, and plastics - materials that are more difficult to work with than traditional steel body parts.
	ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Automotive Service Association, Inc. 1901 Airport Freeway Bedford, TX 76021-5732 www.asashop.org National Automobile Dealers Association 8400 Westpark Dr. McLean, VA 22102 National Automotive Technician Education Foundation 13505 Dulles Technology Dr. Herndon, VA 20171-3421 www.natef.org