Sudbury, Ontario — Cambrian College is looking to get its heavy equipment mechanic students acquainted with some of the mining industry’s most cutting-edge electric vehicles, as the college announced the integration of electric vehicle repair into the program.
Electric vehicles have become increasingly more prevalent across many industries, and mining is no exception.
Steve Gravel, manager of Cambrian’s Centre for Smart Mining, said it was the industry that approached the college to provide the new training program.
“They’ve come to us and said, ‘Look, we’re seeing a skills gap developing,'” Gravel said.
The new programming is funded in part by a $150,000 donation from TD Bank for Cambrian’s Battery Electric Vehicle Training Program.
The eight-day course will be available to heavy equipment mechanics who are already in the mining industry.
Safety when working around EV batteries will be among the program’s most emphasized features, according to Gravel.
“We spend a good amount of the course talking about how to interact with high voltage and when to call an electrician,” he said. “There is a greater fire risk with some battery technologies, and that’s something that the industry is coming to terms with.”
