Toledo, OH, is leading the way in public high school electric vehicle (EV) education, as it welcomes this fall the first students to its new EV Lab -- the first of its kind in the U.S.
Located on the campus of the Toledo Technology Academy of Engineering (TTA), a public high school, the11,000-square-foot EV Lab features six vehicle lifts and a classroom, as well as a Tesla Model 3 trainer vehicle, one of only six in the world, built by ConsuLab in Canada.
The new two-year program, open to juniors and seniors, will teach students electrical safety standards, allowing those pursuing careers in EV manufacturing and infrastructure to earn ASE xEV Level 1 and 2 certifications. Those students interested in training to become a service technician will be able to earn their ASE xEV Level 3 certification.
The students will also be eligible to test for several Snap-on tool-specific and 3M PPE certifications.
In addition to the students enrolled in the EV program, the lab will be used to provide additional training to students in the auto technology program at Start High School and the diesel technology program at Woodward High School, both in Toledo.
In the evenings, it will hold classes for adult learners who already work in the automotive repair industry or are looking to make a career change.
The $4.5 million facility was partially funded by a $1.25 million federal grant, announced in March 2022.
Tom Dimitrew oversees 40 programs as executive director of career technology and adult education for Toledo Public Schools (TPS).
He said the EV program is essential to keeping Toledo’s workforce on the cutting edge as automakers introduce new technology.
“Toledo is sort of Detroit’s little brother,” Dimitrew said. “We have auto manufacturing here in town with GM and Stellantis, as well as suppliers to the Big 3. We have workers who’ve made great careers in this industry, and because of that, we want to make sure we stay on top of emerging trends to keep those jobs here.
“We also want to be able to prepare the young workforce to make the region attractive to bring in potential new industry -- they want to go where skilled workforces exist,” he added.
After the grant was announced in 2022, TPS got to work planning a curriculum and building the facility. The research team included Dimitrew; Ted Richardson and Laura Kubiak, the EV program’s instructors; and David Volk, TTA assistant director.
They visited post-secondary schools, like Sinclair Community College in Dayton and two schools in Michigan -- Macomb Community College in Warren and Monroe County Community College -- that already had an EV training program up and running. They also visited dealerships selling EVs to learn what they would need out of prospective new employees.
“It was a bunch of roll-up-your-sleeves, grassroots research,” Dimitrew said.
At the time, Toledo had a Tesla service center. Thanks to contacts they made there, Richardson and Kubiak went to Texas for Tesla technician training. It was through that training they learned about ConsuLab, from which they purchased the Model 3 trainer.
The program is now ready to bring in its first students for the 2024-25 school year.
This first year, Richardson and Kubiak will co-teach 25 juniors and 25 seniors, Dimitrew said. Then they will be able to separately teach 25 juniors and 25 seniors each -- a total of 100 students.
There was no shortage of students eager to sign up for the new offering.
“We have more students interested than seats to accommodate them,” Dimitrew said. “It’s a good problem to have.”
EV program graduates will be able to use their certifications to demonstrate a baseline of ability.
“We’ve put together a pretty extensive slate of credentials for the kids to use, but we’re trying to produce the foundations of a reliable and proficient worker that can then graduate and, when they’re onboarded to a specific employer, can receive the specialty training for the vehicles they’ll be working with,” Dimitrew said.
Looking to the future, the program may soon offer SAE International EV Supply Equipment (EVSE) Technician certification.
Dimitrew would also like to get the EV program aligned with a local community college that could offer dual enrollment credits, helping students progress toward an associate’s degree while they’re still in high school, like those enrolled in many of TPS’ other CTE programs. Right now, most community college programs are still only offering EV training as opposed to degree programs themselves.
“Everything is in its infancy,” Dimitrew said.
Abby Andrews