KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The automotive industry is moving into an electric future, and local schools say they’re ready to help prepare Michigan.
More than $4 million in new investment will teach students how to work with semiconductors and EVs.
A new partnership between Western Michigan University, Kellogg Community College and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) was announced Monday, with a goal of creating a skilled workforce in the growing field of electric cars.
Nearly $700,000 will create a new curriculum at WMU with the help of General Motors, teaching students about batteries and semiconductors.
Meanwhile at Kellogg Community College, the other $3.5 million will revamp its Advanced Manufacturing Assembly Training to meet the standards of Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park project in Marshall.
WMU hopes the program won’t just attract new college students, but even those who are already in the workforce.
“So the hope is that we can work from both sides, and then move that curriculum out even further, maybe into the Illinois, Indiana, Ohio areas,” said Dr. Steven Butt, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Western says it’s a perfect fit for their existing research into new and faster development of batteries.
Students already work with solar cars and compete in Formula SAE challenges, but say this will give them the background they need for a new era of automobiles.
Current engineering student Eliza Eaton says even those in the industry now have to learn as they go, and a new curriculum would lower the learning curve for new hires.
“It’s evolving so quickly that it’s definitely a challenge to keep up some days,” she said.
With the Biden administration looking to bring semiconductor work back to the U.S., the partnership says the time to fill those jobs is now.
They say the existing workforce in even an automotive capital like Michigan isn’t enough at the moment and that it’s time to step up to meet the world’s changing needs.
The classes at WMU are expected to be available to students by the beginning of 2026.
