From Left to Right: Tim Clement, Automotive Shop Technologist; Kristy Hurley, Program Manager; Bob Brown, Motive Power Second Year Program Co-ordinator and Automotive Professor; Rebecca Isowa, Associate Dean, Electrical, Transportation and Innovation; Chris Pinard, Automotive Service Technician Program Coordinator and Automotive Professor, Bryan Ledgerwood, Manager, Early College Initiatives.
Mohawk College photo
Automotive Professor Bob Brown, and students Paul Vandervelde and Patrick Bareuther analyze live data from a vehicle on the lab’s dynamometer.
From Left to Right: Tim Clement, Automotive Shop Technologist; Kristy Hurley, Program Manager; Bob Brown, Motive Power Second Year Program Co-ordinator and Automotive Professor; Rebecca Isowa, Associate Dean, Electrical, Transportation and Innovation; Chris Pinard, Automotive Service Technician Program Coordinator and Automotive Professor, Bryan Ledgerwood, Manager, Early College Initiatives.
A revolution is underway in the way we drive and Mohawk College is stepping up to ensure the workforce is in place to serve the future.
The federal government has mandated that all vehicles sold by 2035 must be zero-emission. Meeting that target will require a massive shift in skills within the automotive industry.
Mohawk College’s Electric Vehicle and Smart Mobility Lab is directly tackling that challenge.
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“The lab exists to provide education and training to automotive professionals that enables them to work on these new vehicles,” says Rebecca Isowa, associate dean, Electrical, Transportation & Innovation.
The lab is offering a one-week Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Service micro-credential that provides current licensed automotive service technicians with the specialized skills required for the service, repair, and maintenance of electric and hybrid vehicles.
This micro-credential is one of the first of its kind in the region.
Nearly 100 licensed automotive service technicians have already acquired the skills necessary to support the transition to a zero-emission future.
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The course covers high-voltage safety procedures, high-voltage vehicles, battery systems, motors, inverters and control systems, charging systems, hybrid and electric powertrains and HVAC systems specific to high-voltage vehicles.
“The face of automotive technology is constantly changing,” says David Santi, dean, Marshall School of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship. “It’s evolving rapidly now with the introduction of electric and hybrid vehicles, hydrogen technology and alternative fuels.”
All the work underway on the electric vehicle (EV) front supports Mohawk College’s strategic commitment to make a measurable impact on climate change.
“We are focused on greening the trades,” says Isowa. “That can only happen through the intersection of technology and the people who will work in the industry.”
Kristy Hurley, program manager at the Marshall School of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship at Mohawk College, says future micro-credentials are being created in hydrogen fuel cells, battery repair, EV diagnostics, wind turbine and advanced driver assist systems, among others. There are also plans for consumer-facing EV micro-credentials.
“That is alongside a comprehensive upgrade to the Automotive Service Technician curriculum to embed EV and hybrid technology into the education and training of post-secondary students and apprentices.”
Automotive Professor Bob Brown, and students Paul Vandervelde and Patrick Bareuther analyze live data from a vehicle on the lab’s dynamometer.
Mohawk College photo
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There are also enormous opportunities in rolling out EV training in Mohawk’s Truck and Coach Technician program and plans are also underway for a space dedicated to applied research in batteries and repair.
Electrification will impact all manner of mobility — trains, boats, farm and construction equipment — but it also requires entirely new infrastructure to power it.
“It will be nice to have a million EVs on the road, but how are we going to charge them and will the grid support them?” says Isowa.
“We are also actively engaged in education and training for upskilling of tradespeople like electricians and others from the construction side. This is a monumental shift in the technology and the infrastructure needed to support it to make sure it’s successful. We are developing programs to lead to careers that don’t even exist yet.”
Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery, a Mohawk-founded initiative, brings together the expertise and skills of community colleges across Canada in an unprecedented level of collaboration and committed action to address climate change through workforce upskilling.
Mohawk College has made a significant investment in its Electric Vehicle and Smart Mobility Lab, which includes vehicles, trainers and specialized high-voltage EV tooling systems.
“We have an enormous space for our lab,” says Chris Pinard, program co-ordinator and faculty member in the Automotive Service Technician program, and a developer of the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Service micro-credential.
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“We have four working bays with hoists and lots of extra space to park vehicles as well as fully functional charging infrastructure. We also have a dynamometer on which we can drive an electric vehicle in class and scope and watch in real-time what’s going on in the inverters.”
With a focus on safety, the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Service micro-credential includes a six-hour module completed before coming to the lab for 30 hours of hands-on work. Pinard says discussions have begun around a second-level EV micro-credential, which will focus on diagnostics, powertrain and HVAC systems.
“We really are facing quite a huge demand for these skill sets as we see more and more hybrids and electric vehicles hitting the road.”
To learn more about Mohawk College throughout the year, check out the latest issue of Momentum magazine at momentum.mohawkcollege.ca.
