If electric vehicles and other alternative powertrains are the future of trucking, there’s a good chance many of the technicians that will become experts on this equipment are still in school.
We checked in with two well regarded diesel tech programs about how they’re following trucking’s powertrain evolution and how industry changes force educators to transform their curriculum to prepare student for no longer exclusively diesel career.
“We hold an advisory board meeting twice a year and bring in the industry experts and employers to do an overview of our program. Our meeting with them mentions trends, safety requirements and new tools and equipment in our industry,” says Shawn Nunley, vice president of training.
“The advisory board plays a large roll in what we feel are important topics needed to help our students become successful in in the industry. We have full control of our LMS (learning Management System), and if new technology or new trends come out, we can make these changes on the fly. We as a team are always bringing things to the table, we want to be sure to give the skills to our students to be productive day one on the job.”
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He adds, “Currently, we are discussing alternative EV powertrains, but not doing a deep immersion into it yet; our focus at this time is still more of traditional fuel options and natural gas. EV technology is an area we are keeping an eye on to see what direction it goes and the needs of the industry. There is such a small percentage of EV vehicles on the road, and even smaller in the heavy haul market.
“We do discuss what is happening in the industry with these new developments occurring, we also let the students know when they leave us here at WyoTech, they are going to have to be lifelong learners. Staying up with the industry is a full-time job on its own … I feel when we decide to make a change, we are on a good course to do so.”
