The training facility means Ireland won’t have to send EVs abroad for repair and can have vehicles fixed and maintained by a skilled workforce here.
A training academy dedicated to the training of electric vehicle technicians has been opened in Dublin.
The training academy is one of the first of its kind in Ireland. It is situated Dublin headquarters of Harris Group, a company that imports and distributes commercial vehicles, on the Naas Road.
Harris Group partners with transport companies such as Higer, Maxus and Isuzu to deliver industry-standard training courses. Last year, the company ran 26 different training courses for more than 140 technicians. The new training academy will build on this effort.
The academy offers learners a specialised learning portal which provides individualised training across electric systems, diagnostics, body and chassis technologies and emission control systems. The portal is available on a 24/7 basis to participants.
In providing training for EV technicians in Ireland, Harris Group aims to build a skilled workforce of domestic technicians who can repair vehicles. The academy will ensure that technicians have the ability to repair electric buses and light commercial vehicles quickly and safely on-site. Previously, these vehicles would have had to be sent abroad for repairs and maintenance.
Hildegarde Naughton, TD, officially opened the academy today (7 June). She said that the “green transition for transport will need a workforce with new skills and competencies and this is an excellent example of a proactive approach by industry to prepare now for the changes that are coming”.
“Technicians with the knowledge and ability to work with electric vehicles will be more and more in demand in the coming years, so this initiative helps to support high-quality skilled jobs here in Ireland,” the minister of state added. “This capacity in the workforce will give confidence to businesses that supporting services are in place to enable their investments in cleaner, greener vehicles.”
CEO of Harris Group, Denise Harris, said the company was “committed to delivering clean, green, sustainable transport solutions that help to accelerate our national journey towards decarbonisation”.
Harris added that industry preparedness was a key aspect of the transition to using less carbon.
“This is the first step in developing an extensive, home-grown network of expertly trained technicians who will have the knowledge and skill-set to repair any electric bus or light commercial vehicle on the market,” she concluded.
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