Universal Technical Institute (UTI) is rolling out new curriculum in its Ford FACT (Ford Accelerated Credential Training) program to prepare its students to keep the next generation of vehicles on the road. Automotive technicians are in demand, and as the electric vehicle (EV) market continues to grow, those with knowledge of high voltage batteries and electric vehicles have become essential to automakers like Ford.
The new course is another step in UTI’s overall EV strategy, which includes enhancing its core curriculum, enhancing and offering new EV certifications in certain manufacturer-specific advanced training (MSAT) programs, and developing new training models and partnership opportunities to expand UTI’s overall EV ecosystem.
The new Ford EV curriculum will feature blended learning courses on High Voltage Systems Safety, Hybrid Vehicle Components and Operation, Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Components and Operation and an introduction to High Voltage Battery Service, as well as a Ford instructor-led class on Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Operation and Diagnosis.
“Ford has been working with UTI for more than 20 years to ensure our students receive state-of-the-industry training to prepare them for a rewarding, lifelong career in the transportation industry,” said UTI CEO Jerome Grant. “Demand for our graduates remains strong, and by staying at the forefront of new technologies like EV, we are building the workforce of tomorrow and supplying automakers like Ford with the skilled technicians they need to adapt to consumer demand.”
Ford is providing a new PHEV vehicle to each campus so students receive hands-on training and virtual reality goggles that will be utilized in Ford’s training curriculum. This gives Ford FACT graduates the opportunity to achieve Ford’s High Voltage Systems Certification, in addition to the 11 certifications the program already offers. Ford FACT graduates also train in three additional certification pathways that require certain classes to be taken at a Ford training center.
Nine of UTI’s 14 campuses currently offer Ford FACT, a 15-week advanced training program that prepares students to work with Ford’s exclusive technology, computer diagnostics, electrical, gasoline and diesel technologies. Students are eligible to take Ford FACT after they successfully complete UTI’s core automotive or auto/diesel programs. Since Ford and UTI launched FACT in 1999, more than 25,000 students have graduated from the program.
“Ford has been investing in building a pipeline of qualified technicians for years now, and our alliance with Universal Technical Institute allows us to do that through the Ford FACT program,” said Elizabeth Tarquinto, Ford Manager of Technical Support Operations, NA. “The enhancements we’re making to the program ensure that Ford and Lincoln Dealers across the country will be able to find certified technicians ready to work on the vehicles of the future, and help them keep up with consumer demand for hybrid and electric vehicle service.”
Ford FACT is part of UTI’s Manufacturer-Specific Advanced Training (MSAT), which includes more than 35 auto, diesel, motorcycle, and marine manufacturer brands.