Internships for Automotive Program Students in the Works
Tesla Model S as seen during dealer visit
Bay Area Deputy Sector Navigators (DSNs) communicate regularly on topics of joint interest. In December, Mark Martin, DSN for Manufacturing called Gerald Bernstein, DSN for Advanced Transportation and Renewable Energy (ATRE) to describe manufacturing training he was pursuing at Tesla, and relayed Tesla’s interest in obtaining interns at their service centers.
Tesla Committed to Developing Service Technicians
Bernstein followed up with Tesla’s Vocational and Trade Schools program to discuss their needs. While the company has service centers in over 30 states, there are only one, two, or three centers in most of them. California is home to 18 Tesla service centers, with the majority located in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles-Orange County regions. Bernstein learned that while additional California service centers are in development, the company has had difficulty finding appropriately skilled technicians. This has fueled Tesla’s commitment to develop their own.
Bay Area Student Internship Program in Development
A factory tour was arranged for chairs of the 14 Bay Area Automotive programs to discuss Tesla’s needs and the types of hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) skills already being taught. The group determined that a program for student internships at Tesla’s maintenance facilities would be beneficial to the company and the college programs.
Details are being worked out between Bernstein and Tesla’s managers. Current thinking is that individual colleges will provide candidates to their nearest service center from which Tesla will pick one or two each semester, depending on demand. Tesla anticipates replicating this same review and discussion with college automotive programs in the LA-Orange County regions.
