Regional Joint Ventures
Development of Battery Curriculum For Use in Manufacturing Skilled Trades Programs
Meeting Regional Demand, Building Statewide Capacity
The Bay Area is home to approximately 55,000 manufacturing jobs in battery-related industries — and virtually no technician-level battery curriculum to train for them. This project changes that. Designed for flexibility and broad adoption, the resulting curriculum will be available to colleges, adult education programs, and K-12 schools throughout California, with the potential to reach thousands of students for years to come.
Project Description
As batteries become essential across electric vehicles, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing, Bay Area employers need technicians with battery-specific skills. This project will develop a flexible, modular battery curriculum for integration into existing community college programs in electronics, industrial maintenance, and mechatronics, filling a critical training gap and building pathways into the region’s growing battery economy.
Participating Colleges
The Need
Batteries are rapidly becoming a foundational technology across electric vehicles, consumer electronics, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing. The Bay Area is home to major battery-dependent companies (Tesla, Apple, Lucid) and emerging battery innovators (Sila, Amprius, Lyten, Sparkz). Globally, battery manufacturing capacity is projected to triple to 9 TWh by 2030. Bay Area community colleges currently offer limited technician-level battery curriculum, leaving a growing skills gap in a sector with approximately 55,000 relevant manufacturing jobs in the region.
Project Purpose
To curate and develop a modular battery technology curriculum that can be integrated into existing CTE programs, electronics, mechatronics, industrial maintenance, and engineering technology, rather than creating standalone programs. The project will also explore apprenticeship pathways for battery-related occupations.
Measurable Goal
This project targets three core objectives: developing a minimum of 50 hours of modular battery curriculum; supporting integration of that curriculum into at least 8 Bay Area colleges; and submitting battery technician apprenticeship standards to DAS and DOL. Taken together, these objectives are projected to positively impact an estimated 450 students during the two-year project term, with reach expanding as curriculum is adopted across the region and state.
Activities
- Map the industry landscape and identify technician-level skill needs through DACUM analysis, employer surveys, and AI-assisted job posting analysis
- Benchmark existing battery curriculum locally, nationally, and internationally
- Identify training gaps and develop at least 50 hours of new modular content
- Support curriculum integration into 8+ Bay Area colleges in Year 1
- Run train-the-trainer sessions for faculty (including a 3-day session with the Battery Innovation Center)
- Develop and submit apprenticeship standards to DAS and DOL
BACCC Priorities
Collaboration & Coordination in Critical Occupations · Skills, Occupational Clusters & Sectors · Work-Based Learning & Apprenticeships
Supports BACCC Goal B (meeting employer needs for well-qualified candidates in high-demand fields) and Goal C (equity in participation and completion) by developing multi-college battery curriculum embedded in existing programs that already serve a majority BIPOC and economically disadvantaged student population, while building pathways into the region’s growing clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors.
Vision 2030 Connection
Strategic Direction 2: Equitable Workforce and Economic Development · Action 9: Climate Action
Directly aligns with Vision 2030 Outcome 4 (Workforce/Living Wage) by preparing students for in-demand technician roles in battery-enabled industries. Supports the Chancellor’s commitment to advancing community college engagement with climate practice, specifically workforce development for green economy jobs, while building inclusive pipelines into clean energy careers for students who face the greatest barriers to economic mobility.