Skilled Workers Needed for Advanced Transportation Technology
As California leads the world toward a cleaner, more sustainable environment, the advanced technologies developed require a skilled workforce to operate and maintain new systems. The California Energy Commission provides grants through its Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program to help the public and private sectors prepare workers.
A grant agreement with the Employment Training Panel focuses on training existing workers such as first responders, producers of alternative fuels and manufacturers. Training contracts require employers to commit matching funds. A grant agreement with the California Employment Development Department focuses on green transportation training needs. Another agreement provided support for California Community College curriculum development and specialized equipment needs.
For example, the Energy Commission provided a grant to Foothill-De Anza Community College District in the Silicon Valley to train up to 378 students on how to inspect alternative vehicles, maintain and repair them. Lift the hood of a hydrogen fuel-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and the vehicles look vastly different from gas-powered cars. A similar grant provided training for up to 438 students in the Los Angeles Community College District.
Other Energy Commission grants have supported instruction in turning recycled waste into renewable compressed natural gas (CNG), maintenance of CNG engines, and special lab skills to produce ethanol in the San Joaquin Valley.
Energy Commission funding is helping train Pleasanton workers to produce lithium for electric vehicle batteries. It is showing workers in Santa Ana and Fontana how to store and deliver alternative fuel for heavy-duty trucks and buses.
As Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has said, “California has cut carbon pollution and grown its economy at the same time – and so can the rest of the world.” With help from Energy Commission grants, California forges ahead to lead the world to cleaner energy.
