Nearly 400 individuals now have jobs in battery manufacturing thanks to a local training program.
An event to celebrate the success of the Battery Boost program through Invest WindsorEssex (IWE) was held on Thursday morning as the program is exceeding national training and employment targets.
The program trains individuals in three modules: safety, gowning up to stay clean, and manufacturing the batteries.
The program had a goal of seeing 400 participants trained, and since February has trained 408 people. Of those 408 people trained, 397 of them have been placed in employment - mainly at the NextStar Energy plant - which is a 97 per cent employment rate from training.
This program uses virtual reality (VR) technology to simulate scenarios to allow those training to learn, make mistakes, and understand how the battery plant operates.
There have been 10 training sessions which are each four weeks long, with roughly 40 people per session.
Ed Dawson, Executive Director of Automobility and Innovation for IWE, says nearly all of those who found employment went to NextStar.
"NextStar had the greatest need, the numbers that they're trying to hire they had available opportunities that were right away, and so they were trying to get the best talent that they could get, right off the bat, so that was really where our goal was to help them as much as we could."
He says those who went through this program are now considered highly trained.
"So when you think about the health and safety aspect, and what we do with the virtual reality training, so to be able to do that in a repetitive manner, and to see issues as they arise... for example, you're able to go and guide yourself, and guide the team on how to resolve those issues in a safe manner. So, VR is an amazing complement."
Dawson says 99 per cent of those in the program had no previous battery technician experience.
"So a lot of the people that were a part of the Battery Boost program had never seen this industry before, this sector before, and so they all started fresh. And a lot of them weren't even technicians, and so they got to be trained from the ground up."
Danies Lee, CEO of NextStar Energy, says it's a very sustainable program.
"As we continue to hire more and more people, this is the kind of instrumental process to go through to ensure that people are really ready for this new industry. So, I think this is going to be a very sustainable program."
Michael Rosas, President of Virtualware Canada, says specifically as the agriculture industry becomes more automated, this training will be very beneficial.
"How can you actually train people in these kinds of environments where now there's more automation and machinery, and more traditional manual labour scenarios, where you could be training people to actually learn how to work with automation systems in a safe environment virtually, before they actually step foot in those facilities."
Rosas says this type of training allows individuals learn a trade that could potentially be dangerous or have multiple challenges.
"That's one of the real most interesting things about this because ultimately it's not about not failing, it's about understanding what happens when you do fail, and then that repetitive nature of being able to do it in a safe environment, and being able to then understand what the actual real process is."
This training program will be available into March 2026, with the hope of adding additional training sessions in the new year.
According to Rosas, this VR area could be used to train in defence, rail, agriculture, automotive, among other sectors.
This program possible due to Invest WindsorEssex (IWE), in partnership with NextStar Energy and Upskill Canada powered by Palette Skills.