Fayetteville Technical Community College welcomed representatives from Caliber Collision to campus on Thursday, April 3 in a day of events showcasing the power of partnership.

FTCC and Caliber have a longstanding relationship centered around the automotive and repair service company’s Changing Lanes education program.

Through the no-cost, 15-week program, which is a Career Skills Program and SkillsBridge program approved by the Department of Defense, military service members transitioning to their civilian careers receive valuable skills training and job placement opportunities at Caliber.

“FTCC is extremely grateful for the longstanding partnership with Caliber Collision through the Changing Lanes Programs and their commitment to working with the College to deliver high quality training programs to assist our Transitioning soldiers," FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells said in a press release.

FTCC became a Caliber partner in 2016 and is currently on its 65th cohort, training hundreds of students in the last decade.

Thursday’s visit included stops at FTCC’s Transportation Complex off Bragg Boulevard, at FTCC’s Swift Water Rescue Training Facility and at Fort Bragg, where FTCC leadership celebrated Caliber’s addition to the U.S. Army’s Partnership for Your Success (PaYS) Program.

Caliber Collision, along with Geico and Liberty Mutual insurance companies, donated six totaled vehicles to the Swift Water facility. The cars were cleaned and fitted with special wheel assemblies to be used in the facility’s tank.

The Swift Water facility, the only one of its kind on the East Coast, features a 140,000-gallon indoor tank with 10 pumps to control water level, current, flow and direction.

Thursday’s visitors were treated to a demonstration at the facility, watching first responders run two scenarios — simulating daytime conditions and nighttime storm conditions — in which two of the donated cars were used.

Swift Water instructor Michael Bartch said the addition of more cars to submerge in the tanks allows first responders to train in more scenarios, helping prepare them for a greater variety of real-world situations.

“Seventy-four percent of water rescues involve vehicles, and out of that, we have a high mortality rate, so the more cars and situations we can put in front of our students, the better chance they have when they go into the real world to do a rescue,” Bartch said in a press release.

Sorrells called the vehicle donation an investment in the community's safety.

"This investment will aid FTCC in providing simulated disaster scenarios to train First Responders and more advanced courses to build muscle memory and prepare our First Responders for the challenges and risks they face in performing rescue operations during floods,” shared Sorrells in a press release. 

FTCC and Caliber Collision leadership opened the day at the college’s Transportation Complex near its Fayetteville campus to visit a building that will soon be converted to an additional Caliber garage for Changing Lanes students.

FTCC currently offers tracks in automotive collision repair, ProTech diagnostic, and auto glass installation.

The building, which is next to two Caliber training facilities off Bragg Boulevard, will add six bays and 3,900 square feet of space for a new automotive maintenance training track.