Electric vehicle training coming to Okanagan College in Kelowna

Photo: The Canadian Press

Okanagan College is one of three provincial institutions that will be adding electric vehicle maintenance training to its program list.

The provincial government’s CleanBC Go Electric initiative is contributing $440,000 to the project and will work with Trades Training BC to offer the program at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus, College of New Caledonia’s Prince George location and at Camosun College in Victoria.

“We know from speaking with our students and with industry that there is huge interest and a real need for EV training,” Okanagan College automotive service technician instructor Andrew Ross said in a press release.

“This funding ensures we can tool up to deliver state-of-the-art training that will help our students be in demand and get jobs. It means our students are training with the very latest technologies and training aids. So it’s a win-win-win for our students, for Okanagan College and for employers.”

The British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Burnaby campus initially launched the program in 2019 to provide Red Seal automotive technicians with the skills they need to work on EVs.

The Zero-Emission Vehicle Act, which was passed on May 30, 2019, requires all new light-duty cars and trucks sold in B.C. to be zero-emission vehicles by 2040.