CHAPTER 9
Lessons from Other Industries

The addition of ZEVs is taking place in nearly every industry that is involved in the transportation of goods or people. As a result, public transit is not alone in the need to reskill existing workers to meet ZEV maintenance and operation needs. ZEVs are being added, replacing some internal combustion vehicles in public and private fleets, including in local government entities such as school districts and private logistics companies such as the United Parcel Service (UPS) and Amazon. Although the types of ZEVs may vary from those in public transportation fleets, the fundamental skills needed to operate and maintain these vehicles are comparable. Exploring the strategies employed by and for other industries introducing ZEVs to their fleets can be useful to the public transportation industry in identifying how to best prepare the existing and future workforce needed for these vehicles.

Automotive Industry

For the automotive industry, the scale of change represented by ZEVs may be significant. The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that the number of U.S. auto-industry jobs could increase by 150,000 by 2030 if battery-electric vehicles sales reach 50% by 2030 and the vehicle market share of U.S.-assembled vehicles increases to 60% from todayʼs 50%.⁸⁶ As with the transit industry, however, the continued growth of ZEVs in the automotive sector is uncertain.

Regardless, as production of ZEVs continues, the automotive industry workforce is acquiring new skills to be in line with new production and maintenance processes. These skills are highly technical and include those for battery management systems (BMSs), quality assurance, mechatronics, lean automation systems, and maintenance of electrical and electronic components. The workforce demand in the existing automotive market will also be affected. Although the number of technicians relative to the number of vehicles in use may change, there is no question that automotive technicians will need new skills to service ZEVs.

ASE, an independent organization that provides testing and certification for repair and service professionals, created the Electric Vehicle Technician/Shop Personnel Electrical Safety Standards in 2023.⁸⁷ These standards establish electrical safety requirements, procedures, and safe work practices for service professionals in North America working on or around ZEVs. The standards cover the risks associated with electric vehicle repair, how to help someone injured due to high voltage, details regarding various protective equipment, the training necessary to establish a safe workspace, how to handle high-voltage batteries and de-energize electric systems, and what types of testing instruments and equipment should be on hand, as well as their inspection and usage. ⁸⁸

Automobile OEMs are aware of the need for ZEV training, and because of the keen interest in customer satisfaction due to highly competitive nature of their business, they have been

proactive in providing dealership technicians with needed training. Car manufacturers such as Ford⁸⁹ and Honda⁹⁰ have invested resources and implemented various programs to ensure that there are adequate numbers of trained technicians at their dealerships and service centers to handle new zero-emission models. To this end, several automakers have partnered with colleges and universities to create and provide training for ZEV maintenance.⁹¹

School Bus Fleets

In response to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began the Clean School Bus Program, providing $5 billion over 5 years (FY 2022–2026) to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.⁹² The EPA partnered with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and the National Renewable Laboratory to offer technical assistance to Clean School Bus Program applicants and program participants, including information and tools needed to successfully plan and deploy clean school buses and infrastructure. School districts can find resources for workforce development on the Clean School Bus Program website.⁹³

The U.S. Department of Energyʼs Vehicle Technologies Office has provided a series of educational webinars and handouts for K–12 school districts interested in implementing electric school buses. Part 7 of the series focuses on how to provide driver and technician training on electric school buses. Although there is no direct training for drivers or technicians created as part of this series, the video and handout for Part 7 list several educational videos and an example of training options for high-voltage safety for electric vehicles.⁹⁴

School bus OEMs develop and provide training programs for electric vehicles, which are provided to school district operators and maintenance technicians either by the OEMs or their dealer networks. According to information that was collected by the EPA, each of the seven largest zero-emission school bus OEMs provides services to train school districts on how to operate and maintain their new buses.⁹⁵ This training may include presentations, written materials, vehicle walk-arounds, test drives, and charging demonstrations. In most cases, training is generally provided once the vehicles are delivered to the operator and typically occurs one time.⁹⁶

Working with school bus OEMs, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, in coordination with ITLC, released a four-part webinar series on electric school bus familiarization training. These webinars have provided operators, technicians, and other school bus fleet members a fundamental understanding of the electric school bus technology and can be used to supplement OEM-provided direct training.⁹⁷

Beyond basic bus maintenance (fluid and brake checks, low-voltage systems, body fixes, etc.), electric school bus maintenance can be complex, and proper training is required to work on the high-voltage system. As a result, it is not uncommon for the vehicle to be returned to a manufacturerʼs dealership for more advanced repairs that on-site technicians are not permitted to perform. Several organizations have recognized this challenge and offer EV training programs. Among the organizations currently providing or developing such training programs are the California Energy Commission, Colorado Department of Transportation, LegacyEV, National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program, and First Student.⁹⁸