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Oklahoma's Mid-Del Tech Center meets the electric vehicle training challenge.

Article Excerpt
The challenge was there. During a series of service club meetings, several businessmen had discussed a common problem of either having a few electric vehicles in their fleet or the desire to add electric vehicles or convert to electric driven vehicles. A common concern was that there were no technicians with the knowledge to maintain these vehicles. The local electric utility, OG&E, had a small fleet of electric driven vehicles (EDVs). However, they were not being used because existing maintenance problems were going unattended. Tinker Air Force Base, the largest user of alternate powered vehicles within the U.S. Department of Defense, was interested in expanding its small fleet of EDVs, and Southwest Airlines wanted to create an all-electric gate to help Oklahoma City's Will Rogers Airport be designated as the first "clean airport" in the nation.

Oklahoma's Mid-Del Technology Center was asked to consider beginning a program designed to train technicians to maintain electric vehicles, and Mid-Del accepted the challenge. The charge was given to the Business and Industry Services department. The department is a standard entity in each of the twenty-nine technology center campuses that make up Oklahoma's Career Tech system. These departments are dedicated to meeting training needs of existing businesses and industry constituents as well as others wishing to locate within...