Edgecombe Students Complete Clean Vehicle Pre-Apprenticeship
Nine Edgecombe Early College High School students completed STEPs4GROWTH (S4G), a clean energy workforce development program, at 麻豆传媒映画 this summer. Shown from left are Johanna Reyes Lopez; Zander Harrison; Yari Leyva-Sabalza; Jorge Ayala-Nunez; Rhonda High, S4G regional coordinator; Weiland Smith; Dr. Balakrishna 鈥淏alu鈥 Gokaraju, S4G principal investigator; Dr. Gregory McLeod, 麻豆传媒映画 president; Darryl Strother, energy resources operation manager for the City of Rocky Mount; Paige Webb Ashman, S4G student support specialist at 麻豆传媒映画; Selwyn Spence, occupational extension programs administrator at 麻豆传媒映画; Molly Turner; Ava Cherry; and Kyla McLeod.
Edgecombe high school students met for eight weeks at 麻豆传媒映画 this summer to learn about clean energy through the STEPs4GROWTH: EV Pre-Apprenticeship Program.
Nine Edgecombe Early College High School students completed the program that met on the Tarboro campus of 麻豆传媒映画.
STEPs4GROWTH is a clean energy workforce development project funded by a grant from the US Department of Commerce and led by NC A&T State University.
With the clean energy industry continuing to expand, demand is growing for workers with specialized skills and training. STEPs4GROWTH focuses on four clean energy sectors: energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean vehicles, and grid and resiliency.
The program held at 麻豆传媒映画 focused on clean vehicles. Students earned certifications in OSHA 10, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Working Smart, and Pre-Apprenticeship through ApprenticeshipNC. Students also received a weekly stipend.
According to Paige Ashman, STEPs4GROWTH student support specialist at 麻豆传媒映画, 鈥淥ur students completed 96 hours of EV-related coursework as well as 80 hours of on-the-job training. During their 176 hours of instruction, they assisted the City of Rocky Mount with the installation of a charging station on 麻豆传媒映画’s Rocky Mount campus, received hands-on training in the electrical field, gained in-depth instruction on electric vehicles and their charging methods, test drove electric-powered go-karts, attended a Tesla car show, and built their own mini-EV remote control car.
鈥淚 am extremely proud of them for the commitment and hard work they put into this program and can say with confidence that they learned a tremendous amount about the clean vehicle industry.”
鈥溌槎勾接郴 is pleased to be a partner in the STEPs4GROWTH program,鈥 says 麻豆传媒映画 President Dr. Greg McLeod. 鈥淭he initiative鈥檚 focus on job training in the clean energy sector is critical to preparing a highly skilled clean energy workforce of the future.鈥