Over the past couple of years, Ford has placed a renewed focus on convincing young folks to consider careers as automotive technicians, which is important given the fact that this particular industry is expected to face shortages of techs in the near future. Thus, Ford has invested millions in scholarships for future auto techs, and has also launched a number of training programs to support them, too. The latest – an electrification-focused initiative at Ford Academy – was just announced for Brazil, and it aims to prepare them for precisely that as they train for their future careers.
Over the past two years, the Brazilian Ford Academy has been working on developing this new curriculum, which is centered around hybrid and all-electric vehicles. Given the high voltage systems those vehicles utilize, special training is required, along with specialized tools and equipment, such as tables capable of lifting heavy battery packs.
The Ford Academy training consists of three levels – Level 1 involves conventional items that do not interact with the vehicle’s high-voltage system, such as brakes and shocks, while Level 2 covers services that are closer to the high voltage system such as replacing the air conditioning compressor, and finally, Level 3 consists of maintenance work in both the high-voltage battery and energized systems. Overall, techs will need to complete 116 hours of training, which doesn’t even include the engine and other components.
Ford previously added EV battery training curriculum to its technician training in the U.S. two years ago, joining classes at the Universal Technician Institute (UTI) centered around electrification. Among its many investments in this field, the automaker also recently launched the new Ford Auto Tech Scholarship, which will earmark $2 million toward another round of automotive tech scholarships across 20 states and 292 schools.
We’ll have more on the Ford Academy soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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