Shetland Island Council fleet transitions to electric vehicles

The UK’s most northerly council is in the process of electrifying its fleet of over 320 vehicles. During that process, the Shetland Islands Council recognised that their cohort of vehicle technicians needed electric vehicle (EV) training to manage the transition. In order to help address that need, Autotech Training travelled 26 hours, covering almost 800 miles by car and ferry get there.

However, with the Shetlands lying approximately 100 miles northeast of Scotland, finding the right training provider was challenging. Considerations included the expense of sending its eight vehicle technicians over to the mainland for training or finding a provider who could travel the distance to deliver EV training courses directly to its vehicle technicians.

As one of the only training providers able to meet the Shetland Islands Council’s EV training needs, Dave Walker, Business Development Director for Autotech Training, made the 1,600-mile round trip from Milton Keynes to The Shetland Islands last month in an Autotech Training branded hybrid vehicle.

Delivering both IMI Levels 2 and 3 electric and hybrid vehicle training over four days within the council’s dedicated Lerwick workshop, Walker equipped the eight vehicle technicians with the skills needed to help the council continue its electric vehicle transition.

“Currently, we have around 20 electric vehicles within our fleet,” explained Raymond Murchison, acting Team Leader of Fleet for Shetland Islands Council. “However, as with all local authorities across the UK, we are working towards electrifying our entire fleet and one of the key requirements was to ensure that our vehicles technicians held the relevant skill set to repair and maintain these vehicles safely.”