[Music] hi there and welcome to a special edition of Leading Edge this week I'm your host Jeff Smith it was almost a year ago when W1 was able to tell you about a major announcement involving the future of electric vehicles and education here in the glass City a new electric vehicle Center right here in the heart of Toledo its goal to teach EV skills right here keeping Toledo at the Forefront of the vehicle manufacturing of the future the Toledo made Jeep willly Overland GM Powertrain symbols of the city's Rich Automotive History and this pile of dirt at Toledo Technology Academy is a sign of the future of globally competitive leadership in electric vehicles for uh America to remain a leader and for Toledo to be at the center in the new propulsion age and the new age of clean energy uh and power we have to educate to the Future this is the spot for the TPS Electric Vehicle Center to be finished next year a place where high school students future EV Engineers will innovate and then develop the future of the Auto industry high school students like Aaron Stanford will be able to accumulate college credit ear earn certifications and intern at EV Trailblazers like Tesla I personally haven't seen it anywhere else I it's it's really unique program it's really unique and uh yeah I it's very exciting to see it happen TPS superintendent Romulus Durant says it's a financial advantage for students who can go directly into the EV Workforce at 18 with experience in hand avoiding college debt don't settle for just a diploma settle for certification as well as college credit at no cost to you but it's not just students displaced Auto Workers can be trained or retrained here technicians from local car dealerships can learn to repair and maintain EVS with the hope that Toledo becomes a national leader in where one goes to learn these skills if you're short mechanics as it is what happens when EV comes here and we don't have anybody trained so our students will be in the pipeline to to meet the needs of business and today for the first time here on Leading Edge an exclusive look and conversation about the electric vehicle lab and what it means for Education opportunity and Toledo's Rich Automotive History Tom demitre joining us here in the electric vehicle lab TPS brand spanking new exciting this facility is it not isn't it fantastic it's been uh many years in the works and it's difficult to believe that it's finally here really the first facility of its kind in the state for a high school program and uh we couldn't be more excited to cut the ribbon and and get up and running for this school year let's talk a little bit about the opportunity that this brings about sure well for the students uh at TTA in particular where the facility is housed we've long um focused on engineering and science Advanced Manufacturing Technologies mechatronics electronics for us it was really a seamless fit particularly as concerns the manufacturer of electric vehicles we all know I mean it'd be hard to avoid the fact that we're seeing the there's a transition right now you got it Auto industry making a transition we don't know exactly the time frame but we know it's coming and sooner rather than later we and happening happening locally as well in the real world you got it very much happening locally I'm glad you point that out because everything we do in to public schools and in our career type programs the goal is to specifically train the students for the the modern careers that exist locally regionally yeah keep local talent here you got it and so we wanted to uh you know we working with our partners uh UAW working with Partners in industry and the local auto dealers we knew going back several years this was a trend that was coming opportunity presented itself to uh secure or apply for some federal funding to maybe give us a Kickstart to to um help establish a program that would keep our students on The Cutting Edge of these emerging Technologies we managed to bring it home locally uh in a great team you know put uh their minds to it we had to not just develop a facility but but really develop a curriculum to uh prepare our students for those careers so back to what I was saying about TTA long working on in terms of advanced manufacturing um and there's three components that we were looking at as concerns electric vehicles or sometimes you'll hear the term emobility because it's not just automobiles you're talking about electric propulsion systems that could be applied to Sea vessels it could be applied to what historically have been diesel vehicles aerial drones redefining Transportation you got it redefining Transportation but but three major considerations that we need to prepare our our Workforce uh for the big one as I said that that really um aligned nicely with with clto Technology Academy of engineering was the manufacturing component uh and not all the students will exclusively work in the manufacturing realm but really that's historically been the focus of this institution yeah the second is the EV infrastructure so something people you know maybe certainly experts and those working in the field spend a lot of time thinking about is these vehicles aren't going to do us any good if we don't have the infrastructure in place to actually charge them and keep them you know moving along their way yeah and we need electricians and we need Workforce properly trained to actually establish that National infrastructure to ensure that we're capable of powering and recharging these vehicles as people you know travel across the country and this lays the foundation for that and this lays the foundation for and then the third component which will be afforded to students here at TTA but additionally we're going to bring in our traditional um internal combustion programs which we have Auto technology program at start high school we have a diesel technology program at Woodward High School is the the servicing the maintenance of these of these EV so that's a component that'll be added to their curriculum are we thinking in terms of you you've read the stories I'm sure over your time Albert Einstein took a watch apart he put it back together I mean is that what we're looking at these kids being able to actually get in rebuild redefine as far as electrical components are concerned well if you mean in terms of really applying their their mechanical Acuity like to the task absolutely and that's really what's I think so wonderful about what we call career you know technical education programs is that they're they handson and they learning um taking place in an authentic context so I I use that word authentic um historically I was not a a Career Tech Teacher I didn't grow up for example uh and study Auto Technologies I really I wish I did you were teaching English at Rogers correct you do your homework I was teaching English at at Rogers and actually sort of begrudgingly accepted a temporary assignment working in Career Tech where I told them you got the wrong guy here I don't really know about these Technologies and they said no we need you to fill in as an administrator you don't need to be the content expert so I went over for a temporary assignment then as an English teacher who's really trying to you know bring the classroom to life you realize in these Career Tech classrooms you don't need to bring anything to life it's already alive they're already out there they're actually doing it in the classroom and they're out there doing projects in the community we have students for example in our autot tech programs that are uh working with one of our partners uh pratica you know we we we've partnered with um along with Mercy on our our Premed high school they bring vehicles in our Autotech program gets them up to speed gets some Road ready and then they're given um you know through process to uh single mothers here in the toal community that's a real world context where students know that the work they're doing the learning that's taking place you know means something and when you can provide that they light right up and you can't keep them out of the school on the weekends and that's exactly what we're trying to do freshman through seniors uh possible uh work being done in this facility this facility is going to focus specifically on grades 11 and 12 but there'll be introductory components along the way where they can get a taste of it yeah we want to have the students dip their toes in different uh career Pathways here at TTA or in this case we're calling this electric vehicle tracked so it's a subset of an existing pathway so they can determine what their their Niche is and then they really in Earnest apply their uh you know to their studies in junior year 11th grade we got about 45 seconds left I just wanted to ask you I I read in your bio you said there's nothing that has moved you more than teaching a kid and finding out later in life them coming back to you and saying one you were my favorite teacher or two I really learned something how does that apply to this well I think it it applies in exactly the same way and I would say with the way you portrayed that I almost sound immodest and I know that wasn't your intention my point is that you just don't know what you're going to do or say or what spark is going to ignite a student's passion and interest and sometimes you don't find out by the time they graduate they'll maybe you know 10 15 years down the road they'll come back and say Hey you made all the difference in in my life and we're just trying to provide those Sparks and I think this facility is going to be a fantastic way to provide an explosive number of Sparks for this uh Community I think my point was how important teaching is sometimes and how it does come back to Pat you on the back for a job well done you got that right Tom good luck going forward apprciate appreciate the insight into this we'll be back with more right after this welcome back as we continue our conversation about this fantastic electric vehicle lab here at TTA for the TPS system Tony tody president of local 14 joining me I I wanted to have kind of a full rounded discussion as far as the importance of this facility just your initial impression obviously this has been long in works but give me a little bit of your two sets on it really impressed by the building uh the Building Trades did a great job on it uh we're excited to get students in here uh it won't just be uh TPS students uh we're going to fully utilize this uh facility so during the day the students will go there uh and on the off hours any displaced aut worker any uh mechanic that's at a current dealership that needs to be trained in EV any unemployed or underemployed person could also get training here so this is great for the entire Comm there was a learning curve you and I talked about when the transition was happening at GM propulsion systems you started seeing all of the new technology coming in and that Workforce right there obviously a little bit longer in years right a little bit of an aged Workforce compared to already putting this type of education into the future talk about that well we just had a big transformation at our facility um 127 of uh local for Te members just retired and uh we're replacing them with uh transfers from other areas but we're hiring people off the street as well uh and uh part of that's going to be for our electric uh vehicles uh the electric drives that we're going to produce just had the $760 million investment into the electric drives and we're looking to launch that this year uh and this goes along with that um that's part of uh recognizing all the opportunities that we have uh for our students and uh the community to be a part of this EV Revolution the education component obviously so huge you and I talked about that before we ever did the interview here today and we were just saying to be able to integrate this into a normal school day is just fascinating it's amazing um I'm so happy that we were able to do that and you got to look at our partners um you know all this started when Marcy captor uh had a call and brought a lot of us together on the call and and John Yark um from YK automotives was on there and he was citing the the fact that he had issues with um getting new mechanics um uh trained and I thought you know well if you have a problem with current mechanics a shortage there what's it going to look like for Ev and that's when we got together and put this idea together uh and Marcy captor helped us like she always does uh to get funding initial funding for this facility um got to um say thank you to Dr Durant um with TPS to uh finish it with the rest of the funding and uh all of the partners that that came together um Tom de is doing a great job uh getting the curriculum uh ready for this as well that that's the big part of this right is the education part of it talk about the youth movement and it doesn't mean that somebody comes in here is a junior or senior in high school and immediately goes into the trades there is that possibility they could go go onto an engineering background in college but for your perspective from your perspective and especially as a union head what does does this mean for your Workforce in the future a lot of opportunities you know I was just talking to my plant manager the other day and she said how can we get um students from there into the pipeline again you know when you look at uh uh Toledo Technology Academy which was started 25 years ago uh UAW Local 14 General Motors and TPS uh the intent was to uh get students through the system and get them over to uh General Motors so they can stay here as engineers and and various other roles uh we're at that point again and that's why I love this thing uh because we're taking another look at um that relationship and that pipeline uh we're looking at uh different ways to uh get students from here into the trades uh and Engineering uh and so we're we're taking another look at that and giving it more energy we've got a few EV Vehicles here in the facility as well how'd that come about well uh through the Marcy captor funding um that's what helped do it and we' not just General Motors Vehicles we have Fords we have Teslas uh you know all of the things that the dealerships the different dealerships will need so uh as much as I say Hey by by American uh and these vehicles were made here in America uh we like Union vehicles um you know we have to get our students ready for whatever field or or dealership they will go to there may be those out there who say EES aren't selling uh it's not it's not happening yet however one of the things that Tom said was you might have a kid come in here get this education and become an electrician go into the trades in some way shape or form that's definitely a possibility right well it's nice to be on The Cutting Edge of it uh and and when you look at this facility when we talk infrastructure this is a part of the infrastructure uh it's just as important as electrifying a road or or building more Chargers uh you have to have a facility where you can train people to uh maintain and repair EVs and that's what this is doing so uh I'm happy that we're we're we're early in on it um this is a pilot program it looks like for the State uh they'll look at this as uh hopefully something that they can mimic around the state and across the country uh because this is needed we me and uh Tom dimitre just went to a EV Summit uh not too far from here and uh people were looking to see what we're doing because they want to be a part of this this is a pilot program this is going to kind of set a game plan for the rest of the state is it not exactly and uh we're looking to share this information and what what we did here uh with everybody uh because it it only helps everybody hopefully other community uh communities can benefit from what we do here right in Toledo absolutely well Tony uh continued good luck we appreciate the insight and thanks for sharing the facility with us thank you once again for coming out and checking it out uh and we'll look to see you on the ribbon cutting day all right all right thank you Tony tody good to see you we'll be back with another segment right after this Drew Hamilton owner of brown Honda here in the Toledo area we wanted real world applications as part of this interview today to talk real world specifics and you look at a facility like this I said to you I joked I said at our age we didn't have things like this shop class wasn't like this when we were growing up no it's amazing is it not yeah so I wish that uh you know more kids would have had an opportunity like this and and having um facilities like this in general in the Toledo Public Schools is is fantastic yeah and Tony was telling us it's not just TP kids who are going to benefit from this but how important is it in in a real world situation like you see each and every day at a dealership knowing the need that exists not only for the technology knowhow but also the physical labor that exists and the need for that yeah so tech automotive technicians is a is one of the highest paying jobs at the at the dealership and I think that it's just not front and center in in a lot of kids minds and the career and the amount of money they can make um being an automotive mechanic so have you seen shortages over the last few years especially since Co oh absolutely so it's probably one of the highest demand jobs um in our industry I think that NADA said that there's about 36,000 um graduates that go into the automotive field every year and we're trying to replace 77,000 a year so the demand is just through the roof so obviously the the salaries um have risen tremendously one of the Tony and I were talking about before this we said you know the the EV demand it there are those out there who are going to say it's never going to take off it's never going to happen I don't see it that way I I I see the implementation is happening do you what's your read I think it's been slower than they would like but there's a lot of things that have to get done I mean things like this I mean um you know repairs uh infrastructure but the it's definitely turned that way and it's it's definitely not going to go back um just the amount of investment that the manufacturers have made um and the and the United States in general has made it it's definitely going to shift whether that's a slower or or faster than most people would like um it's what we're all going to going to be driving as EVS yeah one of the things we talked about over the the course of this day is we said there's always been talk in Toledo about brain drain you you train the best you you get the best ready for the future and then they go somewhere else and they take they take their knowhow and knowledge to a to another town and and benefit that City so talk about things like this and how this can hopefully keep the best here right and and benefit the Glass City going forward and Northwest Ohio Southeast Michigan for that matter yes so it's a lot of it's It's what a lot of dealers are are struggling with is uh trying to locate technicians to come into their area because there's just the demand is so high so it Toledo investing in things like this is just going to be so invaluable not only for dealership Community but for for the people in Toledo as well so yeah talk talk about EVs and what you have seen as far as the impact on the industry I know you said it's been slow but what you've gotten in one you've driven one what what is the difference what are people who have not been behind the wheel of one not knowing uh well first of all you don't have to stop at a gas station right you just got to find a charging location a lot of people in Toledo have homes so they're going to be able to charge their vehicles from homes um they're high performance vehicles I mean they're very fast Honda uh just came out with their prologue which we have a couple on the lot right now they're the fastest cars you know Honda's ever made um they're quiet they're the the overall experience is is very enjoyable um it's just you know Crossing that Crossing that divide of how do we go from from gas to EV Honda has really um embarked on going from hybrid first all hybrid to then electric which um I think that the the customers have have really appreciated your guys connection with this and the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association is going to be watching how this goes forward what the game plan is here how it works why they make it work talk about this being the pilot and and how important that is for Toledo to have a pilot program that the rest of the state's going to be keeping an eye on yeah I mean just walking through this facility I mean it it blew my mind I mean at Brown Honda we're building a new dealership um on Central Avenue and just seeing all the technology they have in here I'm trying to take I'm trying to take notes I mean they have the the the Chargers on the lifs I mean it's just a magnificent facility and uh it's really going to be the Benchmark for what dealer for what dealers in the area do as well but being linked to a Statewide organization as you are and thinking in terms of it's not one of the Big C's it's not akan it's not Youngtown it's it's Toledo that is going to be putting itself on the map as far as this industry is concerned yeah I think it's it's it's very important um we're close to Detroit um we're we're Honda has a humongous footprint um just speaking with Honda in general Honda has a tremendous footprint in Ohio we have more employees than any other state um so just seeing that we're investing in our community like this is just going to really Propel us into the future I feel yeah well dur I appreciate you spending some time with us here today and talking with us a little bit of not only the real world applications to what you're seeing at the dealership but how something like this can transition and help you guys in the future yeah it's it been a pleasure wonderful thank you so much and thank you we'll be back wrap things up for this week on Leading Edge right after this as we wrap things up for this week I always want to put things in context for you and while I want you to understand it's not Apples to Apples because the TPS TTA program is a pilot program I thought it was important to share with you what some similar EV curriculum and training actually costs in the real world so take a look at this we've got information from Legacy EV it's an Arizona company that's specializes in not only aftermarket EV applications but it offers certified EV technician training programs so look at what some of these courses cost in-person EV training which teaches students to wire program commission tune and practice fault finding in various EV systems $5,000 the certified technician program which is designed to walk Automotive mechanics through the ins and the outs of an EV build from the ground up that's 2500 how about wiring and the applicable tools that costs four grand and finally the EV fundamental curriculum as they call it which is about building an understanding of EV history fundamental electrical Theory systems analysis and it walks you through your own EV build that is $114,000 for one year and up to 24 students so so once again not Apples to Apples but more along the lines of context in the terms of what's being offered in the real world and the opportunity being afforded to students this year at TTA and those eventually looking for retraining we appreciate you spending time as always with us here on Leading Edge we hope to see you next time [Music] go
2024-08-08