As electric buses become more common in California, the need for skilled technicians who can maintain and repair these vehicles is also increasing.
This spring, community college faculty have been busy refining ATL’s electric school bus curriculum so they can bring it to school district technicians across the state.
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) and Electric Vehicle Charging Systems is the newest course developed by the ATL project team. This past month, 37 instructors from 18 community colleges attended an intensive faculty training session to provide feedback to the team. This is a critical part of the curriculum development process, as even slight adjustments to the course content can have a positive impact on how the course is received by future participants.
Faculty typically evaluate a new course’s organization/structure, opportunities for interaction with the instructor, time allotted for each course topic, and overall quality of lecture and labs, if any.
The EVSE Course Requires Specialized Equipment
Identifying specific equipment needed for a training course is also an important component of these trainings. The EVSE course requires specialized equipment that faculty will need to obtain in order to bring this course to school district technicians.
Nearly 40 community college faculty have been trained to deliver the first four (4) courses in the electric school bus training series:
- High Voltage Familiarization
- Heavy Duty Electrical 1 – Electrical principles, circuits & testing
- Heavy Duty Electrical 2 – Batteries, electronic control systems & sensor technology
- Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) and Electric Vehicle Charging Systems
School districts interested in receiving no-cost electric school bus training can visit https://atleducation.org/cec/the-electric-school-bus-training-project/ or contact Jannet Malig at jmalig@cerritos.edu for more information.
