Two young shop owners of tomorrow are having the time of their lives representing the American collision repair industry as contestants during the Sept. 1-7 WorldSkills Competition being held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

“I’m firing up my welder right now,” reports Scott Raymond, 20, of Easthampton, Mass., who is striving for a global championship in the Auto Body Competition category. Top collision repair students from 16 other nations are vying for the same honor.

“Everyone speaks at least a little English, and we’re all meeting each other,” Raymond says. “The atmosphere is really charged; it hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“It’s a dream come true,” concurs Ben Janke, 21, of Marshall, Wis. “There’s an extreme diversity of people up here – you get to meet a lot of people from different countries.”

Janke has been spraying up a storm as he readies his game face to do battle in the auto painting contest. “There’s a lot of different equipment up here, and it is all state-of-the-art.”

As a founding sponsor of the Competition for WorldSkills, Car-O-Liner has donated 20 complete repair systems worth more than $3 million.

“We’re giving back to the industry,” says Jeff Kern, Car-O-Liner’s president of North American operations. “There’s a lack of skilled technicians in the industry,” he points out, noting how “these are the future owners of the industry.”

Numerous other occupations are represented in the event, which has a maximum eligibility age of 23. Each of the Calgary contestants had to win rigorous local, regional and national competitions in their home countries, such as the SkillsUSA programs conducted over a two-year period.

“I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of hours practicing,” Raymond recounts. Since January, “I’ve been working with Andy every weekend,” he says, referring to Andy Federline, Car-O-Liner’s Northeastern U.S. representative and owner of New England Collision in Walpole, Mass.

Janke has been equally industrious, toiling under the tutelage of Rodney Bolton, an expert technical high school painting instructor in the Baltimore area who gave a week of his time preparing Janke for the trip to Calgary. In addition, Janke journeyed to Chicago for a stint at the DuPont Training Center.

As with Car-O-Liner, DuPont also contributed to the Calgary competition. Other industry supporters include Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), Kraftsman Auto Body, Snap-on Tools and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists.

Kern notes that each of the 17 global collision repair contestants will be invited to autograph the Car-O-Liner equipment. Although the apparatus is brand new, at the close of competition it will technically be “used,” and the company hopes to interest secondary and post-secondary schools in purchasing the pieces for classroom instruction. Kern is confident that the panache attached to the signed equipment will motivate other promising auto body repair students to excel: “Not too many people are aware of the skills competition,” he points out.

The young contestants are certain to glean recognition for their standout occupational abilities, according to Kern. From anywhere on Earth, “We can pass on that individual’s name to someone who’s looking for a technician.”

Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom and Spain are among the competing nations.

Raymond is an Eagle Scout who grew up on a small farm in Easthampton, Mass. He was graduated as the valedictorian from Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in 2007 and now attends the Universal Technical Institute in Norwood, Mass. while also working evenings at Northampton’s Acme Automotive as an ASE-certified master technician.

“My high school instructors, Robert Holhut and Michael Brooks, were the most instrumental in my success in SkillsUSA,” says Raymond. Holhut is with him in Calgary to help steer the route to victory.

“It’s an amazing honor that still seems a little unreal,” Raymond observes.

Janke aspires to own his own shop some day – either a collision repair center or a custom paint and hot rod restoration house.

After attending Wisconsin’s Marshall Senior High School, Janke was graduated at the top of his class from the Madison Area Technical College for Auto Body Collision Repair and Refinish Technology.

He is employed at Rock Lake Paint and Repair in Lake Mills, Wis.

“I joined the SkillsUSA to see how far my skills would take me in such an organized national club, but I had no idea I would make it this far,” Janke explains. “My instructors, Tim Hoege and Rodney Kohlopp, have trained me extremely well and helped me become successful in these competitions. Also, one of the Diesel teachers at MATC, Paul Morschauser, has coordinated and helped out with a lot of the technical information,” he adds.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Janke, “and I want to get every ounce of experience, knowledge and opportunity that I can out of this.”

Established 55 years ago, the non-profit WorldSkills – along with its companion SkillsUSA organization – “helps students excel by augmenting their technical education with training in leadership, team-working skills and in citizenship and character development.” Financial support and contributions of personal time, energy and expertise is sought among schools and the business community to help drive the various industry programs.

For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.