With the creation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program in November 2021, the U.S. will soon have a comprehensive network of 500,000 chargers across the country. One of the provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) requires that the electricians installing and maintaining the NEVI-funded system be certified through the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP).

CLICK ON The five-page document provides an overview of EVITP, assesses the workforce needs associated with the NEVI program, and offers suggestions for state-based alternative programs.

Workforce Needs

EVITP can be eligible as continuing education (CE) credit for an electrician’s license renewal if it is on a state’s approved list of courses, but EVITP does not currently have any continuing education requirements.

State governments should ensure that EVITP is on the approved list, as it provides an excellent opportunity for electricians to become certified later in their careers, rather than only targeting people in their apprenticeship programs at the beginning of their careers.

States should also consider a waiver program for the course fee to incentivize electricians to take it as a CE course. About seven hundred thousand electricians are registered in the U.S. workforce, and about 20,000 have been certified through EVITP to work on EVSEs since the program was launched a decade ago.

State governments should ensure that EVITP is on the approved list, as it provides an excellent opportunity for electricians to become certified later in their careers, rather than only targeting people in their apprenticeship programs at the beginning of their careers.

States should also consider a waiver program for the course fee to incentivize electricians to take it as a CE course. EVITP-certified technicians operate in all 50 states, though demand will increase in rural areas to service NEVI charging stations and other rural projects.

The size of the electrician workforce varies by state population. Still, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that most states have a workforce in line with the national average, except for Pennsylvania’s and Vermont’s, which are lower. Washington, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and North Dakota have workforces significantly larger than the national average.

To work on EV charging stations, these electricians must be certified through the EVITP program or an equivalent state-based program. There is no information available on how EVITP-certified technicians are distributed across the country. However, given the scale of the current EV transition, states should still prioritize growing their EVITP workforce. This especially applies to states like Pennsylvania, Vermont, Illinois, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, which have the lowest existing location quotients for generally certified electricians.

TAKEAWAYS

• The U.S. has a robust system in place to certify electricians to install and maintain EVSEs. More resources are needed to keep the workforce ready for incoming demand, especially in rural areas.
• The EVITP curriculum is regularly updated in accordance with industry standards, and it keeps technicians ready to install bi-directional charging stations, MHD depots, and upgrade grid infrastructure.
• State-based alternatives to EVITP are an option for areas that cannot access the training, but those programs’ curricula are less standardized. States must think creatively and plan to budget maintenance costs after the five-year commitment required by FHWA.
• The IRA and BIL have established a strong demand for EV-ready technicians and states are just beginning to understand the gaps in their workforces. This process will require collaboration and communication from all stakeholders to meet the needs of the American EV industry.