Fresno Tech School Tackles Technician Shortage - What Do You Think?

So I just read this article about Fresno City College opening a new Advanced Transportation Center to train technicians for electric and hybrid vehicles. Sounds like they're trying to get students certified almost immediately on day one. As someone who's been in the trades, I think it's interesting but I'm a bit skeptical. What's the community's take?

As a budget-conscious guy, I gotta say this is a smart move financially. If they can get people trained and certified quickly, they can start earning sooner and avoid those long, expensive programs. But I wonder if the training is thorough enough. You don't want to be a liability on the job because you rushed through.

I'm an apprentice right now, and I'd kill for a program like this. The hands-on stuff is where you really learn. If they're giving real experience with ev systems, that's a game changer. But I agree with Larry - are they just teaching them how to pass a test, or actually how to troubleshoot and think? Big difference.

From my carpenter days, I've seen a lot of 'accelerated' programs come and go. Some are great, some are just diploma mills. But the fact that they're partnering with industry and actually have a building? That's promising. Still, nothing beats years of on-the-job experience. You can't cram that into a few months.

I'm super excited about this! We need more techs, especially for EVs. My buddy had to wait three weeks for a repair because the only certified guy was booked. If this school churns out more trained folks, that'll help everyone. I hope they include some basic air compressor maintenance too - that's a critical skill for any workshop! lol