The current Government agenda and commitment to alternative fuel technology is at the forefront of vehicle design and production and Cheshire’s largest provider of post-16 education is accelerating at high-speed with their brand-new Level 3 Electric & Hybrid Vehicle – Theory and Isolation course.  

The increasing demand for electric and hybrid cars, as businesses make the switch to low emission vehicles, has created a shortage of trained, qualified and accredited technicians to carry out maintenance, servicing or repair work on these vehicles.  

Delivered in partnership with Body Perfect, a rapidly-growing car body repair company, the College’s 5-day intensive, Electric & Hybrid Vehicle course provides learners with the skills and knowledge needed to safely carry out diagnosis, maintenance and repair activities on modern vehicles, including demonstrating the practical skills needed to isolate dangerous high-voltage systems and change components using specialist equipment.   

Mark Parsons, Assistant Principal – Curriculum, commented: “It is imperative that we support local businesses in upskilling their workforce to ensure they can safely and effectively keep up with the rapid pace of change in the industry.  

“Technicians are going to require skills that are closer to a computing professional or software engineer than a traditional mechanic, including coding and reprogramming vehicle software and diagnosing and repairing high voltage rechargeable energy storage systems. 

“This brand-new course will be delivered by our expert tutors, in a purpose-built workshop, combining the latest technology and equipment with interactive learning. With Cheshire at the forefront of the UK’s drive to be net zero, it is really exciting that Cheshire College is at the forefront of such advancements.”  

With the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars being brought forward to 2030, the rate of consumer demand for zero-emissions vehicles is increasing each year. At the end of November 2021 there were more than 705,000 plug-in vehicles with nearly 365,000 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and 340,000 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) registered in the UK. Last year saw the biggest annual increase in number of registrations, with more than 175,000 electric vehicles registered showing a growth of 66% on 2019. Last year, despite the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was a huge growth year for plug-in vehicles. 
 
Enrolment onto one of the College’s part-time programmes has never been simpler with the introduction of online applications to make it as easy as possible for learners to get started.  

To find out more: 

• Email: employers@ccsw.ac.uk 
• Call: 01270 654638 / 01244 656455