Service King Collision Repair Centers, in continuation of the organization’s commitment to investing and training the next generation of highly-skilled automotive technicians, this week welcomed 23 new technicians into its ongoing Apprentice Development Program.

The class represents the first of several formal launches slated for this year, which combined will double the Apprentice Development Program by equipping and graduating nearly 100 fully trained technicians in 2017.

“This is an extremely proud moment in our continued mission to provide unparalleled training opportunities to aspiring automotive repair technicians across the U.S.,” said Tyra Bremer, Service King vice president for talent development. “The Service King Apprentice Development Program is a one-of-a-kind environment for motivated technicians to obtain exclusive hands-on training from dedicated supervisors inside a live collision repair center.

The influx comes as Service King graduates its inaugural Apprentice Development class, a group of 45 technicians all on pace to assume full-time roles within the organization this year.

This week, incoming technicians were hosted to official Signing Days at Service King locations across the country before officially commencing the program. Apprenticeships will take place at repair centers in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, Tennessee and Illinois. Service King is scheduled to finalize the 2017 class this fall.

The Service King Apprentice Development Program officially launched in June 2015 as a new approach to training skilled technicians for successful careers in the collision repair industry. The program pairs each class, capped at no more than four apprentices, to a dedicated apprentice supervisor. Supervisors are assigned the role of training, mentoring and guiding apprentices through the detailed 52-week curriculum.

For more information, visit Service King online at ServiceKing.com.