Determined to make an impact in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil and the U.S. unemployment rate, and keeping more dollars in the domestic country, ETA International has released the competencies for the NEW Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Specialist certification.

Media Contact:

Chrissy Baker
(800) 288-3824
chrissy@eta-i.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ETA International Releases the Power to Change the Future of America!

Greencastle, Indiana – July 29, 2011 –Determined to make an impact in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil and the U.S. unemployment rate, and keeping more dollars in the domestic country, ETA International has released the competencies for the NEW Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Specialist certification.

Electronics Technicians Association International (ETA) first announced the new Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Specialist (EVDS) certification in May 2011. Since then ETA's Subject Matter Experts serving on the Electric Vehicle committee have been diligently working to finalize the competencies and examination for the new certification. After much anticipation ETA is proud to announce the completion of the competencies for the ETA Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Specialist certification which is available at three levels; Apprentice, Specialist, and Master Technician.

ETA is elated to be offering the EVDS certification and helping lead the way to a more efficient, self-sustaining American economy. ETA knows that Electric Vehicles are no longer an idea of the future. They are here now and with the unprecedented support of the US Government, the number of EV's you see on the roads today will drastically increase over the next few years. To support this claim the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) states that:

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is providing more than $7.5 billion to support the growth of the electric drive industry and Smart Grid technology in America
• 2,000+ hybrid buses are now in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and Washington, DC, providing a 30-50% improvement in fuel efficiency and up to a 90% reduction in pollutant emissions.
• Corporations with hybrid fleet vehicles include AT&T, Coca Cola, FedEx, Wal-Mart, Con Edison, Purolator, Courier, UPS, Verizon, and SC Johnson.
• More than 40,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) have been sold by Chrysler's Global Electric Motorcars since 1998.
• Chrysler, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Tesla, and others have announced new battery electric vehicles for 2010-2012.
• If 73% of U.S. light vehicles were powered by today's electric grid, greenhouse gas emissions from this sector would drop by one-third, the equivalent of taking 82 million cars off the road. (Electric Power Research Institute and Natural Resources Defense Council)
• $400 million awarded by U.S. DOE for purchase of plug in hybrids and electric vehicles for demonstrations, as well as charging infrastructure and workforce training.

With the support of billions of dollars of grant money from the U.S. Government, technical universities and colleges across the country are striving to develop programs to educate and train the workforce needed to support the EV industry in the 21st century. ETA is at the forefront of this initiative by providing the new line of Electric Vehicle Technician certifications.

The just released competencies for the EVDS certification will aide these educators in training their students to become the EV Technicians of the very near future! The competencies list the major categories considered necessary in a course of study directed towards the education of an EVDS. In addition to understanding safe working practices in areas such as Personal Protection Equipment and High Voltage Electrical Safety, the EVDS will be required to properly; Identify major components of EV systems; Identify EV types and characteristics; Install basic EV components; Understand EV performance characteristics; Understand EV systems and operating standards; Diagnose and resolve High Voltage System problems and installation concerns. Additionally, ETA requires that the above areas will be proven through the traditional theory based examination as well as a required hands-on skills component.

Just as many other ETA certification competencies have been used, the EVDS competencies can also be used to help the educator design their curriculum for an EVDS course and/or as a syllabus for the course. The ETA EVDS certification exam will be available on-site at ETA approved training facilities. To become an ETA approved training provider the appropriate materials regarding the facility and curriculum must be submitted. In addition, the facility must pass the on-site visit completed by the ETA Director of Compliance.

To learn more about how to obtain the competencies for the ETA Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Specialist certification and taking the first step in helping America bring jobs back to the United States and reduce dependence on foreign oil contact ETA International at 800.288.3824 or visit online at www.etainternational.org.

ETA® International - Founded in 1978, the Electronics Technicians Association International is a not-for-profit, professional association promoting excellence in electronics technologies through certifications. The association's initiatives are to provide a prominent certification program of competency criteria and testing benchmarks that steer international electronic standards and renowned professional electronics credentials. Today, ETA has issued over 115,000 technical certifications covering more than 70 certification programs in a variety of electronics fields. The association consists of over 5,000 members, 625 Subject Matter Experts (SME's) serving on various Industry Advisory Committees and 1,010 Exam/Certification Administrators (CA's). (www.etainternational.org)

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Download this press release at: www.eta-i.org/pr/EVCompspr.pdf