BRAINERD — Kids at Brainerd High School got an inside look at everything electric in the automotive industry, as professionals in the field look to students to fill crucial technician roles.

A collaborative effort among Central Lakes College, Mills Ford, Ford Motor Company and the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, an Electric Vehicle 101 workshop took place on Friday, Dec. 6, for career and technical education students and Brainerd High School.

It starts with CLC’s new Automotive Career Exploration program, which allows students to earn Ford credit, training and certification while obtaining a college degree. Students in the program can work at Mills Ford at the same time, gaining on-the-job experience, readying them for a job after graduation.

Friday’s workshop focused specifically on electronic vehicles, with students able to ride in a Ford Mustang Mach-e Rally and a Ford F-150 Lighting to get a feeling for how electric vehicles ride.

Chris Hadfield, an automotive technology instructor at CLC, said it’s important for those getting into the industry to understand how to work on both new electronic cars and older engine models. As an example, Hadfield said at a stoplight in Brainerd, one could see a rusty pickup truck next to a brand new Tesla Cybertruck.

“You have to have the knowledge and capability and skill to do both the rusty truck and the advanced vehicle,” he said.

Students also got to see the college’s training vehicle, a lower-voltage electronic vehicle.

“We use a digital storage oscilloscope to be able to check motor amperage and current ramping of an amperage over time graph on a high-speed oscilloscope,” Hadfield said. “And this is an example of what we use to teach our students the basics of and the fundamentals of electricity, electronics and electric vehicle drive and current ramping and motors and regenerative action.”

CLC’s program is a master-accredited program, with industry partners in the area giving input on what to teach to ensure students are prepared for the current workforce.

Right now, Hadfield said the industry partners are emphasizing the importance of teaching about high-tech vehicles, as the future undoubtedly holds even more electric cars and hybrids. Even gas and diesel engines, he said, are becoming higher tech, with technicians needing to work with computers to diagnose issues.

Through the Automotive Career Exploration program at CLC, graduating students can come out far ahead of their peers who are just starting out in the industry.

Tim Stearns, service and parts director at Mills Ford in Baxter, said students are now learning in college what they would normally learn during their first weeks on the job. In his more than 25 years in the industry, Stearns said he’s seen the decline of automotive education programs and noted there are not a lot of technicians coming into the field right now. That means the partnership with CLC is huge for his company and for the field in general.

Bruce Drader and Brian Gallivan, technical placement specialists at Ford Motor Company, agreed, saying technicians are in high demand right now.

“There was such a focus for such a long time on getting a four-year degree that the technical side of things kind of went away, and just less and less people taking it,” Drader said. “And now they’re starting to realize we need to build that system back up, let people know that, ‘Hey, we still need people to work with your hands.’ ”

It’s not just working with their hands anymore, though. A technician now must understand computers and science, along with the physical mechanics of a vehicle. High school students can learn all of that through Mills, which allows kids that age to shadow a technician for a day to see just what the job entails and decide if it’s something they might be interested in.

Blake Sandeen, a welding teacher at Brainerd High School, spoke of the importance of exposing students to a variety of different programs by actually showing them what the work would be like instead of just talking about it. Students may have an idea of what they want to do long before graduation, he said, and can get a jump start on finding resources and asking the pertinent questions.

That’s exactly what Hadfield hopes to accomplish through the Automotive Career Exploration program and by partnering with the high school on workshops such as the electric vehicle one.

“The idea is to help these high school students understand the careers, how the college is connected to it, and the fact that Mills is an important partner in that career exploration and learning how to be a technician,” he said.

As Hadfield and other professionals mentioned, a lot goes into being a technician, including at least 300 hours of training a year to stay up to date on the technology.

But with that could also come a hefty paycheck for those willing to take the plunge. The Automotive Career Exploration program aims to not only ready students to hit the workforce running upon graduation but also prepare them to continue on with a two-year or four-year degree afterward if they’d like to keep learning.

THERESA BOURKE may be reached at

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