Tesla’s presence in California is growing, and the company is looking to expand its workforce, particularly in the auto collision division.
The company’s long-standing relationship with Bay Area Community Colleges made it a natural choice to meet these new workforce needs.
In early March, four representatives from Tesla’s National Auto Body and Collision Team visited City College of San Francisco, College of Alameda, College of Marin, and Contra Costa College to meet with students, faculty, administrators, and observe what was happening in the classroom. The tour was organized by Pamela Gutman, ATL Regional Director in the Bay Area.
Tesla’s team shared that they are in the process of building a network of collision shops to work on its vehicles using the company’s signature assembly line approach, rather than one technician per car like a traditional auto shop. The company currently has collision facilities in Pomona, San Jose, and Chicago and stressed that employees should be flexible about moving from location to location based on demand.
The team then took questions from students, who were very excited about the prospect of working for Tesla. The company regularly participates in recruiting events and supports a local automotive competition for students in the region. Gutman said anything Tesla-related always draws a big reaction from students and their families.
“Tesla cars create quite a buzz of excitement with both students and parents,” Gutman said. “Tesla is clearly the ‘it’ car right now and gets everyone excited. Parents want their children to work on the high-tech Teslas!”
Tesla’s team ended the visits with enthusiasm about a potential future partnership related to auto body and collision. This relationship would meet the company’s staffing needs while increasing the visibility and recruitment potential of the auto body programs at City College of San Francisco, College of Alameda, College of Marin, and Contra Costa College — a win-win for everyone involved.
Gutman said Tesla left the visit excited to build upon their strong partnership in the region and provide more career opportunities to students in the near future. Though the company is eager for new employees, they stressed to students that they must complete their studies before they can begin working full-time.
“Tesla commented that they were surprised by the depth and quality of the auto body programs and were glad that they went to all four sites,” Gutman said. “Tesla was very grateful for our time and support, and they went home with a few resumes. And the colleges appreciated Tesla’s continued interest and support of the Bay Area auto programs and our students.”
