VICTORIA -- A Vancouver Island college is set to begin training certified automotive technicians on how to maintain electric vehicles.
Camosun College’s Interurban campus will join Kelowna’s Okanagan College and the College of New Caledonia in Prince George in offering the new EV maintenance training program.
The province announced the expanded program Monday, saying demand for electric-vehicle maintenance jobs in B.C. will continue to increase.
"We're supporting the growing popularity of EVs by helping auto technicians develop the skills they need to work on EVs in service centres across B.C.," said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, in a statement.
"The expansion of the EV Maintenance Training program will help grow our EV sector and make it even easier for British Columbians to make the switch to an EV, putting us on the road to a cleaner, better future," Ralston added.
The British Columbia Institute of Technology's Burnaby campus first launched the program in 2019 to provide automotive technicians with the skills to work on EVs.
The new program expansion will be funded with $440,000 from the province’s CleanBC Go Electric program in partnership with Trades Training BC.
"We are laying the groundwork to make the switch to electric vehicles easier and more convenient for people," said Saanich South MLA Lana Popham in the statement. "By funding this program at Camosun, we are equipping students with marketable skills for a world where more and more EVs will be on the road."
The program is set to begin at Camosun in the fall.
"Camosun is excited to lead the way as the regional provider of electric vehicle maintenance training for Vancouver Island," said Patrick Jones, Camosun’s automotive technician program leader.
