Author Archive for leephillipsdesign – Page 2
On the heels of its $72 million electric school bus rollout, the California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded Cerritos College $1 million to train the technicians and mechanics tasked with maintaining their new buses.
To ensure these workers have the necessary skills, the Cerritos project team has been developing curriculum around high voltage familiarization, heavy duty electrical and electrical for transit.
While the in-person courses were being developed, ATL offered foundational electrical training through a robust online platform. This unique training delivered short 5-minute learning sessions each day, adapting its content to fit each user’s knowledge level. Topics covered included multimeter fundamentals, battery service and testing, vehicle electrification safety for technicians, and more. Read More →
Progress photo of the Chaffey High School Switch EV build.
Transitioning to cleaner vehicles and fuels continues to be a priority in the Inland Empire.
Adding Switch Electric Vehicles to area high school automotive programs has been one way to move this initiative forward and prepare the future workforce for the rapidly-changing automotive job market.
Over the summer, three San Bernardino County high schools brought the Switch EV curriculum to their classes thanks to a grant by the CA Energy Commission through Cerritos College’s ATL program. This electric vehicle kit allows students to engage in every aspect of electrical vehicle theory, construction, maintenance, and operation. In just four weeks, students at Etiwanda High School, Montclair High School and Chaffey High School built this full-size street legal EV as a classroom project. Read More →
Last fall the Cerritos Community College District’s Advanced Transportation Technology and Energy Center was awarded an additional $1.5 million to recruit additional high schools to participate in the Zero Emissions Vehicle High School Pilot Project funded by the California Energy Commission.
This program is designed to increase career awareness in the clean fuels transportation field for high school students in underserved communities, including regions impacted by poor air quality as well as those serving minority populations.
Each participating high school receives funding to purchase a Switch electric vehicle kit, which comes with curriculum for teachers to use in their classrooms. Teachers also attend a comprehensive train-the-trainer workshop to receive the instruction needed to help their students assemble the vehicle.
At the time of the augmentation, 28 high schools across California had already implemented the program on their campuses, and the project team was excited to reach out to more schools with the invitation. Word of this project had spread throughout the state among auto instructors and CTE coordinators, many of whom reached out to the ATL project team to find out if they could participate.
Over the course of the 2021-2022 school year, interested high school teachers worked with their district administrators to get permission, set up budgets and complete the contracting process which will enable them to offer this new curriculum to their students beginning fall 2022. Thanks to the generous augmentation by the CEC, Cerritos was able to fund an additional 24 schools for the coming school year, bringing the total number of participating high schools to 52.
The Girl Scouts Get Moving! program is all about helping girls learn what they can do to protect the planet for themselves and future generations.
That mission aligns well with the ATL sector, and Statewide Director Jannet Malig was pleased to learn recently that one of the sector’s resources was used by a Junior scout troop working on the Get Moving! Project.
Scout leader LouAnne Taylor emailed Malig to say that the sector’s Green Academy Links website, which includes information about wind energy and green careers, was extremely helpful as the girls were working on earning their badges.
“Since going remote, we’re always looking for online material for the girls to use while working towards earning their badges,” Taylor wrote. “While doing some research on renewable energy, we discovered your wonderful page and have been using it as a resource ever since.”
Taylor suggested another site, All About Renewable Energy for Kids, that might serve as a complementary resource for younger students. Her Junior scouts found the website while doing research for the same projects that led them to the ATL sector.
“It’s gratifying to hear that our efforts to bring up-to-date training materials and resources to educators also reaches and impacts our youth,” Malig said. “We are happy to add the suggested renewable energy site as a complement to our resource page.”
Automotive education is at a crossroads.
On the one hand, the industry is changing rapidly as more technologically advanced vehicles hit the roads and California’s emissions reduction deadlines draw closer. At the same time, enrollment in automotive technician programs from communities of color is falling — precisely at the time that employers need them most to help address the changing industry.
The Next Gen Auto: Expanding Enrollment and Equity campaign aims to solve both problems by raising awareness about high tech auto careers and develop leads for the Bay Region’s 14 colleges among women and under-represented groups. Read More →
Thanks to support from Jaime Gonzalez, ATL Regional Director in Orange County, the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association Automotive Technology Competition Finals were held virtually and provided an important opportunity for the county’s high school students to learn automotive skills and connect to area employers.
The competition began with a field of hundreds of students from 11 Orange County high schools and ended May 1 with 28 students competing in the final round. OCADA worked with community college faculty to design an interactive online test on the e-learning platform Electude, another event sponsor. The online learning platform mimics gaming technology, allowing students to manipulate tools and parts as they would in real life. Read More →
As workforce shortages continue in the automotive industry, the Los Angeles region is taking a new approach to presenting career pathways to high school students.
Katie Mishler, ATL Regional Director in the Los Angeles region, is partnering with Electude, a leading e-learning platform in technical education, to create short online modules that expose students to subjects and knowledge related to the automotive industry.
Lessons will be short and encourage students to think technically and continue their education after high school. Specific lesson topics include measurement, pressure, hydraulics, electrical fundamentals, and chemical reactions. Read More →
By Jonathan Kropp, Regional Director-Employer Engagement, San Diego & Imperial Valley Region
Logistics and supply chain management have become a critical business function in today’s global economy[1].
Companies who actively manage their supply chain do so to lower costs and increase competitive advantages. Supply chain & logistics practitioners can be found in almost every type of business from manufacturing to healthcare.
After some exploratory research in 2020 it was determined by the San Diego Regional Director for Advanced Transportation & Logistics that there was a need to develop a regional strategy for Supply Chain & Logistics. The first step in this process was collaborating with the Centers of Excellence to dive into labor market data and educational supply & demand gaps. Read More →
Formerly CETI/ATRE; Our name has changed to better reflect the industry focus of our initiative.
Careers in Automotive and Transportation
Jobs in the automotive and transportation field are numerous. As an automotive student, you can get access to the latest equipment, technology, and automotive designs by taking courses relevant to automotive employment. Community colleges offer courses that are continuously updated on the newest technology to help update your skills. Check out these updated brochures for community college locations where you can become a trained automotive technician! Click here!
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