The San Bernardino Valley College Foundation has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Edison International to benefit students looking to work in the automotive industry, specifically on electric vehicles.
"The Edison Clean Energy grant will be used to develop stackable certificates for clean energy electric vehicle (EV) technician training," Karen Childers, San Bernardino Valley College Director of Development and Community Relations, said. "The certificates will be short-term (six to eight units each) and bring together the SBVC departments of Automotive, Electricity and Electronics, and Diesel."
Much of the funding will be used to purchase equipment, including a vehicle trainer for instructional purposes. "Grant funds will also be used for curriculum development for the certificates, as well as outreach and student recruitment," Childers said. "The timeline for the grant project is the Spring 2019 and Fall 2019 semesters."
Grants given by Edison International go to help underserved groups, with more than half of the funding benefiting educational and environmental programs. By receiving such grants, San Bernardino Valley College is able to continue to offer important classes that teach students vital skills and prepare them for jobs.
"San Bernardino Valley College has served this region since 1926 with quality, accessible college education," Childers said. "As a public community college, SBVC depends on state support for the majority of its programs. However, the needs of the community and the speed of technology often outpace the ability of taxpayers to bear the whole cost. Grants like this really help the college to continue to offer the most up-to-date equipment and technology for our students to prepare for good jobs in the community."