P.E.I. college giving veteran mechanics a crash course in fixing electric vehicles
Auto shops facing 'a new challenge' as more and more EVs hit the roads
As electric vehicles become more common on Prince Edward Island roads, Holland College is stepping up with a short subsidized course for the people who will be dealing with them when they break down.
The P.E.I. institution is offering a five-day course, designed for experienced mechanics, on how to repair EVs, with the tuition costs covered by the provincial government and a national college fund.
Program manager Craig Roche said there are a lot of similarities between EVs and conventional vehicles, but at their core they are not at all the same.
"A combustion engine, [compared] to an electric motor, is tremendously different," said Roche.
"There's probably a little bit of apprehension amongst the industry to work on an EV or a hybrid — just a little bit of unknown, a little fear maybe. That's what we're hoping to alleviate, and have everyone comfortable working on these vehicles, because that's what we're going to see on the road more and more."
The course will focus on charging and cooling systems, as well as identifying different battery types and how to disconnect them.
Matt Thomson, owner of Midtown Auto Repair, is planning to send one of his technicians.
"I've been keeping an eye out for this kind of training in Canada for three or four years," he said. "We're very excited to send somebody and get their foot in the door and see what steps we need to take as an independent automotive repair shop to begin to service these vehicles."
The industry is shifting that way and it only makes sense for him to develop those skills in his staff, Thomson said.
"We're very aware that we're going to have to have that skill in-house," said Thomson. "You're going to have to do that if you want to stay in the industry."
'We're all getting hit with changes'
For Thomson, the training is just a first step.
Dealing with the power systems in EVs is going to require specialized tools as well as training. After his employee takes this training course, his company will start considering when it should begin to move forward with acquiring those tools.
Midtown Auto mechanic Larry Arsenault, who has 30 years of experience working on combustion-engine vehicles, is looking forward to the course.
"It's a new challenge for everything. You go from a wood stove to a heat pump. I guess we're all getting hit with changes to the world," he said.
"It's just like anything else, we've got to get trained on it. It's a challenge, that's for sure. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Arsenault believes his experience in dealing with electrical systems in conventional vehicles will likely be transferable to this newer technology. The main difference will be dealing with the much higher — often dangerously high — voltages in EVs.
Three classes of eight students are scheduled to take the course before the end of March, and enrolment is currently open for future sessions.
With files from Alex MacIsaac and Steve Bruce