Towards an Electric Vehicle Service Technology Certificate: Building Career Pathways by Implementing a Hybrid Curriculum in Electric Vehicle Technology

The growing demand for Electric Vehicle (EV) technicians in the burgeoning South Carolina Automotive industry has created a need for career pathways for automotive technology students and corresponding professional development for their instructors. This project will develop both a pathway for students and training resources for instructors offering the coursework leading to the Electric Vehicle Service and Repair certificate. Over the three-year project, 50 students will be recruited to complete credit bearing courses that will result in an EV Service and Repair certificate enabling them to work in the ever-growing EV repair field. Also, professional development for faculty addressing the new EV curricula will be provided. With mentorship from the CA2VES ATE Center (Center for Aviation and Automotive Technological Education Using Virtual E-Schools), and advisement from EV consortia members, this project will create equitable opportunities for underserved populations in South Carolina to progress to two- and four-year institutions and to the workplace. The project will integrate classroom and virtual learning to increase and diversify the pool of EV service technicians. This will be accomplished by implementing practices to support participation and persistence in EV service technician education for students including those who are rural, underserved, and/or underrepresented in the EV industry. The flexible hybrid approach allows for personalized learning to support students with different backgrounds to achieve proficiency in a shorter time period and attain certification. The assessment of the effectiveness of this hybrid approach regarding creativity and innovation in teaching and learning, digital learning technology, and workforce development will advance ATE knowledge.

The overall goal of this project is to better prepare diverse students to enter the EV workforce or continued education through implementing a hybrid curriculum and providing training for faculty. Working closely with NSF-funded EV consortia, the project will refine and deploy an innovative, creative, and informed EV service industry technician education hybrid curriculum incorporating classroom and virtual learning to augment Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification courses and complement existing advanced manufacturing research. Additionally, this project will provide professional development for faculty and trainers addressing the augmented EV curricula and create a novel "Train the Trainer" program to ensure widespread use. Finally, the project will recruit, retain, and graduate students from EV technician education programs, build career pathways and address South Carolina's need to build capacity and diversity in the EV maintenance workforce. Fifty students are expected to enroll over three years, and at least twenty-five instructors will be impacted as the "Train the Trainer" program is established. Students will participate in in-person and on-line synchronous and asynchronous lectures with in-person labs for all EV Service Technician courses starting with Engine Fundamentals in their first year.