Bath College is set to see the number of students learning vital skills double.
The college has received funding from West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris for students learning skills in electric car maintenance and repair skills.
Mr Norris provided a £700,000 investment to expand the college's Radstock-based Motor Vehicle Centre so it can train up more electric car mechanics for the future.
The Metro Mayor will visit the college as part of his third jobs and skills summit, to meet some of the current students learning how to service all-electric cars and vans.
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Mr Norris said: “Lift the bonnet of an electric car and it might seem like something is missing - with no sign of the usual fuel pump, spark plugs and other moving parts. These are very different vehicles, and that means they’ll need mechanics and other workers with different skill sets to service them.
“I’m proud a £700,000-plus investment from my Mayoral Combined Authority is helping skill up more local people to become electric car mechanics, work in car maintenance and take other vital jobs in an industry which is changing rapidly. This in turn will help me make it easier than ever for locals to own an electric car, and make the West of England the engine for the electric car revolution.”
With sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans set to be banned from 2030, it is estimated that the UK needs another 25,000 qualified technicians, with the West of England alone needing hundreds more locals trained up in how to service electric vehicles by the end of the decade.
Industry leaders have warned the UK is lagging behind other countries in retraining its automotive workforce. Radstock's new facilities have seen additional classrooms created, plus refreshed tool stations and other high-tech equipment on an additional mezzanine floor.
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