Michigan continues to lead electric vehicle industry development in the U.S., creating and sustaining EV-related jobs and training that are critical to serving consumers and businesses – both in Michigan and nationwide. As I shared with you earlier on these pages, Michigan’s EV Jobs Academy is at the forefront of these efforts and Monroe County Community College and its partners are working hard to build from scratch the tools and networks to teach, train and maintain Michigan’s developing EV infrastructures.
Reports continue to show that EV vehicle design/development, battery production and charging planning/maintenance (for both EVs and e-recreational/commercial vehicles) will be growth industries throughout the 2020s and into future decades. They will join other clean fuel efforts in hydrogen, compressed natural gas (CNG) and biofuels – as well as efforts to optimize efficiencies in current fossil fuel use and distribution (gas/diesel use for passenger commercial vehicles and reliable, efficient electricity generation – essential for any future EV industry success).
In a recently released report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (a unit of the U.S. Department of Labor), authors Javier Colato and Lindsey Ice show double-digit percentage growth in software development (to optimize EV performance with real-time vehicle software updates) and chemical engineering (for battery design/production). Smaller, yet noteworthy, gains are projected to be achieved in training electricians (to install/maintain EV charging infrastructures and be liaisons for utility companies), construction workers (to support new construction and modifications to fueling locations receiving EV charging), electrical line workers (to upgrade/maintain existing electrical power grids/equipment) and community/urban planners (to support the need to, according to the report, map out where to place public charging to support the projections that one public charger is needed for every 10 to 15 EVs, even with drivers charging at home).
Not mentioned in the Colato/Ice Report but worth noting is the role of U.S. mining companies and the national/international mining industry to source and supply copper, lithium and other precious metals needed in battery production. The report also doesn’t discuss in detail maintaining EV motors and related components, although it does reference a decline in traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) maintenance (saving $8,000-$12,000 over the vehicle’s lifetime – excluding tire and brake maintenance which would not change significantly from current maintenance/cost levels).
Michigan’s EV-related course curriculum will be managed via the Michigan Workforce Training & Education Collaborative (MWTEC). According to Dennis Bona, MWTEC’s director of manufacturing and mobility programs, and Amy Lee, the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) executive dean of collaborative programs, MWTEC will build upon successful efforts started in 2010 when five Michigan community colleges got together to teach X-ray and MRI courses in a program named the Michigan Radiologic and Imaging Sciences Consortium (MIRIS). The program was an instant success. In its very first year, MIRIS graduated and placed 100% of the student cohort and collected more revenue than expense for the operation of the program.
MIRIS later became Michigan College Online in 2015 and was operated by MCCA. Nursing was added along with eight other health education programs, and the number of schools expanded to 16 when the program was renamed Michigan Consortium for Educational Programs in Collaboration (EPiC). In 2022, because the EPiC model was so successful, especially with smaller, expensive curriculum/instruction programs that often employ emerging technology and/or new occupations, it was decided that EPiC needed to grow beyond health care programs.
EPiC’s EV curriculum will allow Michigan’s small community colleges like MCCC to add EPiC-delivered courses and develop/share new courses in partnership with other Michigan community colleges that are EPiC members. Courses like the new battery technician course might not be possible without MWTEC’s infrastructure and support.
Tom Adamich is president of Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is project archivist for the Greening Nursery Co. and Family Archives and the electric vehicle awareness coordinator at Monroe County Community College.