Electric vehicle course to come to Dobyns-Bennett High School | WJHL

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Dobyns-Bennett High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program plans to offer an Electrical Vehicle Technician Maintenance course as early as next fall. Program leaders are working on purchasing an electric vehicle for the course.

The CTE program has received grant money to purchase a Ford F-150 Lightning to use for the class.

“Students are intrigued about new and interesting careers,” said CTE Director Bo Shadden. “And we think that this electrical vehicle maintenance program will be one that’s piqued their interest. It has so far.”

Students have developed a design to decorate the all-wheel drive, all-electric vehicle when they receive it. Instructors said the excitement comes with new educational possibilities.

“You don’t see an engine; [electric vehicles are] quiet,” said auto maintenance and light repair instructor Charles Honaker. “You don’t hardly hear them coming, of course. But, there are some components on it, like any other cars, you’ve got to be careful working on. And that’s what we [aim to teach].”

Instructors said electrical vehicles are an ever-growing business. Two factories are being built in Nashville and Murfreesboro for battery production.

While training for the new course, Honaker said he learned Tennessee will have at least 10,000 jobs for electric vehicles unfilled in 2024 alone.

As far as CTE instructors know, Dobyns-Bennett is the first high school to offer this program.

“My whole career, it seems like I’ve been chasing the needs of industry, and industry always has needed something yesterday,” said Shadden. “And unfortunately, education doesn’t have the flexibility to shift as fast as industry sometimes needs, so it’s anxious to know that we might be a little bit ahead of the industry in electrical vehicle maintenance.”

The electric vehicle maintenance course will be offered alongside the other automotive programs in the CTE department. Shadden said he plans for the electric vehicle to be used in other courses like supply management and the fire sciences class, too.

Shadden said he is working on applying for another grant to purchase the necessary tools to work on electric vehicles, as the school prepares for the course next school year.

Kingsport City Schools has asked for approval by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to purchase the electric vehicle. The vehicle costs about $77,000 and the board meets Tuesday night.