Workers looking to learn how to operate a battery electric vehicle (BEV) underground now have a fast track to employment, thanks to NORCAT.
The Sudbury-based hub is unrolling its new BEV operators program, and according to Brandon Vance, a senior consultant with NORCAT‘s Advisory division, the results have been positive, so far.
“We do some tracking of the students,” Vance told Northern Ontario Business. “We have a certain percentage that are employed either immediately after the training, or they get employed three months after, six months after.”
In October, the federal government gave NORCAT $225,000 from its Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative to develop training initiatives including underground demonstrations, curriculum development and deployment, and hands-on experiential training.
The goal of the course — currently offered as a component of the Common Core training program — is to equip people with hands-on knowledge of BEVs. But more importantly, Vance said, is to make sure operators feel comfortable with the new technology.
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