A new £477,000 electric vehicle training facility has been completed to help train the next generation of motor vehicle specialists at Warwick Trident College.
College group WCG, which includes Warwick Trident College, has partnered with consultants and industry experts Miretur Ltd to create the facility which will support students on automotive courses at the college.
The facility will also be used in training programmes developed by Miretur, which seek to build awareness of new technologies associated with electric vehicles and batteries, the health and safety processes associated with them and also aid adult learners to reskill and support the rapidly-evolving sector.
It features fully-converted workshops with specialist features for the training of skills associated with electric vehicles. The workshop is home to three electric vehicles, one hybrid, one plug-in hybrid and one fully electric - with specialist tools and diagnostics equipment also available.
Staff at the college have been given training by Miretur on the courses developed, while more than 60 students have already been put through a course with the college staff around basic awareness of electric vehicles and how to work on them safely.
The new training facility has been funded by the Department for Education through the Skills Accelerator Development Fund. It comes after colleges across Coventry and Warwickshire secured more than £5 million in funding through the fund to reshare technical skills training in the region.
Alan May, Director of Warwick Trident College, said: “This will be an important new facility and vital resource in equipping our learners with the skills required to support one of the country's fastest growing sectors.
“It was vital we partnered with an industry expert to create the facility, and by working with Miretur we are confident that the training that will be delivered here will directly support the needs of the industry.
“We will initially be introducing our full-time students to the facility and then also using it as part of Coventry and Warwickshire Adult Learning (CWAL) initiative. We are also exploring opportunities for apprentices to utilise the facility, if it is relevant to their apprenticeship and/or employer.
“Warwickshire is a hotbed for electric vehicle technology, with research facilities and major OEMs based in the region. This new facility will help to support learners at our college to secure employment in that sector in the coming years.”
Leanne Booth, from Miretur Ltd, added: “It has been fantastic for Miretur Ltd to have partnered with WCG on the Electric Vehicle Awareness and Battery Awareness project, and to see the Electric Vehicle training facility at Trident college now finished and operational.
“The facility at Trident college will enable learners to gain real-world practical skills to work in environments that work with electric vehicle high voltage batteries and enables them to gain knowledge of safe workplace practices – ensuring upskilled workforces is imperative to move forward in the effort to adapt skills for electric vehicle maintenance.
“Learners can use the training facility to safely develop knowledge and build on skills in preparation to work with electric vehicles in their workplace.”
To find out more about courses at Warwick Trident College visit www.wcg.ac.uk/study
PICTURE CAPTION: From left to right, Leanne Booth, Andrew Lettis, James Nutt, Sarel Marais and Alan May.