Trina Wafle with WVU engineering students who competed in the national EcoCAR Mobility Challenge.
The future of the American auto industry is electric — President Joe Biden has committed to making two-thirds of all new cars in the U.S. electric vehicles (EVs) by 2032, and major manufacturers, including General Motors, have announced that they'll stop making internal combustion engine vehicles entirely by 2035. This evolution won't just affect drivers, but also the mechanics who fix the next generation of cars.
Students with EV training are highly sought after, usually by EV manufacturers, said Trina Wafle, interim director of the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium at West Virginia University.
These highly skilled workers are often paid more than traditional technicians, which Wafle hopes will attract young people who want to work in tech in green jobs; especially women who are traditionally far outnumbered in the field.
Read the full story on the CBS News website.
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The NAFTC is a program of the Energy Institute at West Virginia University.
The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium Energy Institute is cureently developing a safety-focused EV training program for the auto and diesel technician workforce in Appalachia to support the adoption of electric vehicles. Go to this link for more information.