Students in Sušice, Czechia, will learn to repair electric cars at a school with new equipment

Students at the Sušice Secondary Vocational School and Secondary Vocational College can now learn how to repair cars. The Pilsen Region has built a new electromobility centre at the school. The EU contributed 10.5 million crowns through the IROP programme towards the renovation and full fit-out with modern servicing and diagnostic technologies, which cost at least 15 million crowns; the region covered the remainder. The school began a complete renovation of its old garages last spring and installed the technology and equipment this year, Vladimír Kroc (ANO), the deputy governor for education and sport, told the Czech News Agency.

„Students in the auto-electrician and motor vehicle mechanic programmes will learn to repair and adjust hybrid and electric cars, as well as the latest technologies integrated into modern vehicles. The building, equipped with smart technologies, will also be used to teach future electricians and electrical engineers,“ Kroc said.

Adapting teaching to current trends will enable students to learn to work in a dynamic field and, at the same time, improve their prospects in the labour market, he said.

The idea of focusing teaching on electric cars and modern control units in today’s vehicles emerged around three years ago. „We now have a teaching space equipped like a state-of-the-art car repair shop, of which there are not many in Czechia,“ said the school’s head, Jaromír Kolář. The centre is fully operational, and the first students, as well as teachers, are learning to work with the new equipment with help from technicians at the supplier companies.

„Teachers of both practical and theoretical subjects are taking part in a range of training sessions and presentations. They are also continuing their education to keep up with the latest trends in the automotive industry. We also drew inspiration from modern service centres at Škoda in Mladá Boleslav,“ Kolář said.

The school centre is equipped for the maintenance, repair and adjustment of electric and hybrid cars, but can also continue to work on vehicles with combustion engines. It also has a fully equipped tyre shop, equipment for wheel alignment and devices for setting up lane-keeping radars, parking sensors and automatic headlight switching, all features of modern cars. There is also a modern lathe, used, for example, to resurface brake discs and drums.

Advanced control systems operate the ventilation, electrical installations and building security, making the premises energy-efficient while also giving students in the electrician and electrical engineering programmes the opportunity to work with new technologies. The head expects the modern equipment to attract new applicants. „Graduates will have very good prospects in the labour market. They will know how to repair and adjust vehicles using procedures that technicians at ordinary repair shops are only gradually beginning to learn,“ Kolář added.

The Integrated Regional Operational Programme has already supported 27 projects at secondary and higher vocational schools in the Pilsen Region, with a total of 295 million crowns.