Introducing eSERVE Academy, the Pioneering Training Program from CATS
CATS is thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind program, the Electric Sustainable Environmentally Reliable Vehicle Education (eSERVE) Academy! The eSERVE Academy is a nationally-unprecedented program that provides a gateway for potential employees to move their careers forward efficiently, thanks to Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) being awarded $30 million from the Federal Transit Administration to continue the advancement of its sustainability and resiliency efforts. CATS created this program in order to attract and train qualified individuals for high-demand, technical roles by offering a comprehensive range of workforce development activities and forming strategic community partnerships. eSERVE is designed to meet the industry’s highest standards, ensuring that employees receive the skills necessary to navigate their jobs.
Operating and maintaining a commercial motor vehicle requires a high level of knowledge, experience, skills and physical abilities. Applicants to the academy enter as apprentices, embarking on a journey that can lead to diverse career paths within the transit industry. Whether they aspire to become a bus operator, rail operator or maintenance technician, our program provides the foundation for their success. Within the Academy, we are also thrilled to be the first transit system in the nation to offer a comprehensive Commercial Drivers License (CDL) training program for participants without a CDL permit, which will create a pathway for interested candidates to obtain the licensure necessary to operate and maintain vehicles within the CATS system. Bus and Rail Operations trainings take six months to one year to complete, inclusive of CATS’s required CDL training, while the Maintenance apprenticeship program spans from one to two years.