(WAND) - The Illinois Community College Board, through its Rev Up EV! Community College Initiative awarded $9.4 Million to 25 Illinois community colleges to help support the state’s growing Electric Vehicle industry.
The funding will promote the development and growth of training programs that prepare people for careers in EV technology and EV-specific advanced manufacturing fields.
“Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s leadership, Illinois is at the forefront of change to vehicle electrification and continues to attract new EV industry companies. This funding will allow our community college system to increase the trained workforce and create new technology that will support the growing needs of the industry for years to come,” said ICCB Executive Director Brian Durham.
The grant program is intended to support the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act which established Illinois policy to equitably transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
Grantees are required to participate in the Illinois Green Economy Network led IL EV Network, an industry collaborative of key stakeholders from industry, higher education, and state agencies.
“We are excited to work with these outstanding community colleges to discuss critical industry trends, talent needs in high-priority roles, systemwide strategies, barriers, solutions, and opportunities for collaboration to expand the EV / related advanced manufacturing workforce in Illinois,” said David Husemoller, executive director of IGEN.
The $9.4 million competitive grant was awarded in two categories: Building capacity for the EV industry by preparing colleges for the future needs of the industry; and technology development and expansion including the expansion of EV job training programs from development and production to maintenance of Electric Vehicles and installation of critical infrastructure.
Electric vehicle sales were up 14 percent in 2022, more than ten times their share in 2017.
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