De Anza College of Automotive Training
- A unique, technical EV training curriculum with reimbursement opportunity

Dear PFSA Member,

As a former fleet manager for the City of San Jose, I understand both the challenge and importance of keeping technician training updated for new technologies.  To assist me in this task, I used the De Anza College of Automotive Training to instruct technicians so they could better support the City’s diverse fleet of heavy-duty and light-duty vehicles.

De Anza Automotive has formed an alliance with industry specialists to instruct fleet technicians, using both classroom and lab, to work on Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Electric Charging Infrastructure and Natural Gas Vehicles (See course offerings below).  I am pleased to be part of this alliance and offer this critical new training to municipalities and fleets.  Each course curriculum will be 50 hours of classroom and hands-on training with instruction during normal working hours starting in January 2012 at a cost of $1,650 per course.

The California Energy Commission and the Education Training Program (ETP) have reviewed our training program and are finalizing their support for reimbursement to fleets sending their mechanics to our technical courses. The targeted reimbursement amount is $900 for a course that costs $1,650. I feel that this reimbursement is a substantial commitment and help when budgetary constraints are facing all of us combined with the challenge of reduced staffing with greater service level delivery expectations. 

There are limited numbers of seats available so we need input on your fleet’s interest in our training program. This is a great opportunity to partner with a premier training facility in Cupertino, excellent instructors and curriculum focused on providing this new technology training. When our partner, Silicon Valley Clean Cities Coalition and Breathe California call you for the interest level in participating, please talk with them and identify the number of staff who would be interested in participating in this advanced training over the next two years.

Thank you,

Don Beams, President
Green Transportation Workforce Development
De Anza Education Joint Venture
1469 Park Avenue
San Jose, California