Lack of standard training for EV techs perpetuates shortage

There’s an aggressive push for more electric vehicle chargers and technicians to work on them, but a problem remains: There’s no nationwide standard for training those technicians.

The lack of such guidelines could hinder companies from quickly and adequately training the number of techs needed to support the build-out of EV chargers nationwide, experts say. Fielding EV techs is necessary to overcoming one of the largest barriers to widespread EV adoption: charge anxiety or the uncertainty of being able to use a charging station since one in five EV chargers don’t work, according to a study led by a Harvard Business School fellow.

“There’s definitely a shortage of EV techs,” said Kianna Scott, senior vice president of learning and development at ChargerHelp!, which services EV charging stations and runs its own tech training programs nationwide.

Companies servicing EV chargers have traditionally sought certified electricians as the ideal EV tech. That’s why the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union developed the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training program.

But with a shortage of electricians and the urgent need for EV techs, many companies that repair EV chargers have developed their own curriculum to attract people who are new to the electrical field. Since different companies train techs differently, there’s scant agreement on which skills are required to be an EV tech. A lack of certification further slows the process, forcing companies to train and verify the skills of each new hire.

To meet the need for certification, the Society of Automotive Engineers, known for setting industry standards, connected with ChargerHelp! to create a certification for EV techs. Launched in January, SAE’s EV supply equipment technician certification exam was developed with major automakers and charging companies to establish a body of knowledge an EV tech is expected to know.

“We aspire for this to be the industry-recognized certification,” said Frank Menchaca, president of SAE International’s Sustainable Mobility Solutions group, which developed the certification.

Already, SAE has received a lot of interest from companies who’d like to see their techs certified. Some community colleges are looking to adjust the EV tech curriculum to prepare students for the exam, Menchaca said.

Last month, a class of 12 EV techs graduated from Goodwill Detroit’s EV tech training program and are set to take the exam. ChargerHelp! worked with Goodwill to ensure the training would align with SAE’s certification.

“The majority of the curriculum is hands-on experience and technical application with the goal of preparing graduates for the SAE exam,” said Jessica Hutcheson, vice president of learning and development at ChargerHelp!.

But the SAE certification is still in its infancy. The first certificates were issued in June. Many companies that service EV chargers are still unaware or indifferent, continuing their own EV tech training programs.

“I don’t think there’s an industry standard (for training) yet,” said Jagdeep Singh, chief customer experience officer for ChargePoint. “It does add some level of confusion to the industry.”

ChargePoint manufactures and maintains EV chargers and has one of the largest charging networks in the nation. Even if an EV tech has prior certification, they’re still required to undergo product-specific training on the company’s stations.

“For the most part,” Singh said, “any partner that’s affiliated with our product will need to go through our training and certification program to ensure that we’re delivering the best experiences for the drivers and owners of these stations.”

The search for a standard

Techs who service ChargePoint chargers work for the network’s operation and maintenance partner companies, including Oscar W. Larson Co. or OWL.

Justin Spence, manager at OWL, agrees there’s no industry standard for EV tech training, but he’d certainly like to see one. When interviewed in early July, Spence said he hadn’t yet seen the SAE’s exam but is interested.

“That would be a wonderful way to hire people who already have the basic skill set needed to service the equipment,” Spence said.

Abass El-Hage, CEO of Detroit-based Red E Charging LLC, does not require new hires to have the SAE certification or any specific type of training. While those trainings are accepted, as are college degrees, Red E also provides other training needed for its chargers.

“If you want to work on a Mercedes, you need to know little quirks on a Mercedes … and so somebody that we onboard, we’re going to make sure that they get all those different trainings in what we’re working with,” El-Hage said.

El-Hage says having a standard for training would help in some markets where Red E is installing chargers.

“It would help in other more remote areas … finding somebody qualified in New Mexico, that’s hard,” he said.

El-Hage has hired from the EV tech training program at Ford Motor Co.’s Michigan Central Station, he said, “The program downtown, I’m all about it, and I think it’s helpful, and I think it does fill a need. I don’t feel like we have a crazy shortage, though.”

An emerging field

To meet the demand for EV techs, OWL initially cross-trained its electricians to work on EV chargers. But there simply weren’t enough trained employees to meet demand. This led OWL to develop its own training program for EV techs who are new to the industry.

OWL developed certifications ranging from Level III techs (certified electricians who tackle the most difficult problems) to Level I techs (newly trained techs carrying out standard maintenance/repair). Level I techs can solve the most common problems at charging stations.

Some other companies have a different definition of what they call an “EV tech.”

InCharge, a charger manufacturer that hires its own EV techs to service its stations, defines EV techs as electricians or those on their way to becoming electricians. Because InCharge has a unique software that allows workers to repair 75% of problems remotely, it looks for people with experience when hiring new techs.

“The industry does not mandate EV techs be trained,” InCharge CEO Cameron Funk said. “There is no nationwide training standard.”

The position of EV tech is so new, it could allow those traditionally excluded from the electrical space to get into the industry. Half of Goodwill of Greater Detroit’s first class of EV techs were women, for example.

Lavez Boudreaux, 30, from Detroit, is one of the graduates of Goodwill’s EV program. Boudreaux has always loved cars and previously worked on an auto assembly line. Having never graduated from college and with no previous electrical experience before the Goodwill program, he hopes that being an EV tech could give him a step up. The starting wage for EV techs can be $30 an hour.

“I feel like I’m getting a headstart into the future,” Boudreaux said, adding he’ll need more training as the field evolves. “I’ll need to get more certifications. But the (Goodwill program and SAE exam), it’s a good start.”

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