Testimonials from our students

When you choose the Automotive Training Centre for career-specific education, you’re joining the ranks of thousands of other Canadian success stories. For more than 3 decades individuals just like you have started their professional careers equipped with the confidence, skills and hands-on knowledge provided by our high quality experienced caring staff. The Automotive Training Centre has been helping adults transform their lives through professional technical training for more than 35 years offering a wide variety of professional automotive programs.

I chose this career so that when people see my custom work, they will say: “That’s Crystal’s!” I love what I do.

Originally, I wanted to be a mechanic. I had an opportunity to do “work experience” at a shop, and the people I worked for encouraged me to try my hand at body work. I found that I was good at, and actually liked it more than mechanical work!

Now that I knew what I wanted to do, I needed to find a school to teach me the fundamentals. I came across the Automotive Training Centre on the internet, and thought it sounded like the place for me. I was impressed by the program and by what other students had to say about their experiences there. Some had even opened their own businesses!

I went down to ATC and was given a tour by Dean, the director. When I saw students working on cars, everything just clicked for me. I knew that this was what I wanted to do, and that ATC was where to do it, so I enrolled.

I found the facilities to be good and overall, it was a great program. ATC gave me the foundation I needed so that when I went into a shop, I was not going in blind. I knew what I was doing, and my employer (which the staff at ATC helped me find) appreciates that. It has helped me a lot.

Now that I have finished the program and have a job in a shop, I am looking forward to the day I can own my own shop. If it wasn’t for ATC, I don’t think that I would have ever made it this far.
Being female has never held me back in this field either. I wanted to prove that a girl can ROCK in a career like this too – and ATC helped me prove that and increased my confidence level greatly!

Crystal Mulack, Graduate

My grandfather started Coache Collision Ltd. in 1975, and my father began working there in 1985, as a collision estimator.  My grandfather retired in 2008 leaving the company to my dad, who has owned it since then.  I had only worked at the company in the summer during high school washing cars and cleaning the shop.  After graduating high school, I jumped from job to job; never really happy with the different fields of work I was in.  In January 2012 I went back to Coache Collision and started to do more than just wash cars, enjoying everything that I did.  I soon came to the realization that this is where I belonged, and the career path I had chosen was to follow in my grandfather and father’s footsteps and join the family business.

To advance to the Collision Estimator position at Coache Collision, I was required to take a course related to the work I would be doing.  After doing some research and reading many online reviews, I decided to enroll in the Auto Body Collision Estimator program at the Automotive Training Centre in Surrey, BC.  This would prove to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The topics covered in class and the knowledge handed down were made easy to understand, and there was no stone left unturned.  Even my dad, who has been in the industry for 28 years was astounded at the amount I was learning, and the rate at which I was learning it as well.  I was even able to teach him a few things he didn’t already know!

Immediately, within the first week of the class, I was excited to learn, comfortable with the environment and my fellow classmates, and extremely confident in my instructor, Ward MacDougall.  Ward has found a way to make the classroom a fun place to be, whilst packing in copious amounts of knowledge at the same time.  His teaching methods and the way he conducted himself inside and outside the class were outstanding, and he had done for me what no other teacher had ever done before, he made me love coming to school in the morning to learn.  All of the staff at ATC were extremely friendly and accommodating, making me feel comfortable every step of the way.

It’s April 2013 now and I am happily working with my dad in the family business as a Collision Estimator, and loving every minute of it.  The transitions between work and school couldn’t have been smoother thanks to the work of the ATC staff, and my incredible instructor Ward.  I would highly recommend ATC without hesitation to anyone looking to go into the Automotive Industry.

Thank you to all the staff at ATC and especially Ward MacDougall for making my learning experience a pleasure, and helping to jump start my career.

Graduate, Auto Body Collision Estimator program, 2013,

Taylor Tietze

Hello,

My Name Is Christine Galligan and I have recently graduated from the Collision Estimating Course here at ATC .

When I started in this 13-week course, I didn’t know anyone, and I was surrounded by much older people. I came into the course with no knowledge of estimating or what it really was. I was scared to take the course thinking I wouldn’t like it or I would fail because it might be too tough.

During my time at ATC, I made friends who I will always cherish and met a teacher who taught me so much. I thought collision estimating was just writing damage and sending the report but there was much more to it than that, including the different types of damages and how to deal with customers and their cars. Overall I got through it with the help of my teacher and my fellow students. The students and I were all like one big Ohana.  “Ohana” means FAMILY, FAMILY means no one gets left BEHIND or FORGOTTEN. We all had each other’s back and helped everyone get through it and that is what I needed.

I now can take the knowledge and skills I have learned and put it towards my new job at Craftsman Collision and take the skills to the next level.

I want to thank ATC for all their help, and to all of the current and future students coming into the school don’t be afraid that it might not work for you, because trust me, it will always work out. It may seem tough but you are tougher and stronger. Just put your mind to it and you will succeed. Here’s a quote I want to leave with you that helped me get through this course and it may help you in the future. “Don’t Let The Fear Of Striking Out Keep You From Playing The Game.”

Sincerely,
Christine Galligan, Graduate

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