Twenty-five Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) members will become the first cohort of police officers to be certified in the Electric Vehicle Hazard Management training executed by the HEART/NSTA Trust and funded and administered by the eDrive Project.

This new training programme is part of a wider training programme representing a $31 million investment funded by the eDrive Project. The project itself is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lab and JPS, and is being implemented as part of a national drive to prepare Jamaica for electric mobility.

At the orientation held at the HEART/NSTA Trust Jamaican German Automotive School (JAGAS) Campus in Kingston on August 31, participants were informed of the context of the course, the regulatory gear needed, and the class schedule for the duration of the programme.

With an official start date of September 6, the JCF members are the latest first responders to undertake the course. The officers join members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade and a group of insurance adjusters personnel currently enrolled in the training programme. To successfully complete the programme, the officers are expected to actively participate in weekly part-time studies at JAGAS. Sessions will include theoretical and practical components.

A key objective of the eDrive Project is the upskilling of 200 first responders and 200 electric vehicle technicians with in-demand skills to support electric vehicle usage in Jamaica. As part of this mandate, Project eDrive has established three ongoing courses with Heart/NSTA Trust.

February 2023 marked the launch of the three programmes, Level 1-Electric and Vehicle Hazard Management, Level 2 -Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Routine Maintenance and Level 3- Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Systems Repair and Replacement at three Heart/NSTA Trust locations, JAGAS in Kingston, Southwest TVET – Derrick Rochester Campus in Junction St. Elizabeth and Port Maria VTC).

Eighty-five first responders and 65 vehicle technicians are currently enrolled in the Level 2 -Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Routine Maintenance and Level 3- Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Systems Repair and Replacement programmes.

The eDrive project provides a significant boost to the nation’s first responders’ operational capacity. At the orientation exercise, Director of Corporate Communication JPS, Winsome Callum, congratulated the cohort for being forerunners in the Jamaican electric mobility industry.

“You are among the very first persons to be trained. You are part of the beginning. Electric mobility is here whether we like it or not,” Callum noted.

“We’ve seen the trend worldwide where manufacturers of motor vehicles are saying we are going to stop making Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles by a particular date. What will replace ICE vehicles? Electric vehicles. We do not want to be caught off guard, and that’s why we have the eDrive project,” she added.

Representing the JCF at the orientation was the Senior Superintendent (SSP) and Head of the St Andrew North Police Division, Aaron Fletcher.

“We look forward to the continued partnership, and we commit to delivering top-quality service at the end of our tenure; having been certified and trained, we commit that the people we serve will be the benefactors of the training that has been imparted to our police officers. We are looking forward to a successful sojourn and implore the cohort that is here now to make the best of it and, as the cohort one of the JCF, make the mark. Set the bar so that those who will come after will be challenged to maintain or go beyond,“ Fletcher shared.

Acknowledging the special conditions of the function of the officers in society, Director Principal of the Heart/NSTA Trust TVET Engineering Cluster, Region 1, Eric Nelson encouraged participants to “stay the course” despite the challenges because “EVs are coming and not going”.

The year-long eDrive-sponsored programme will equip and certify the officers as able responders in the event of an electric vehicle emergency.