Two months after its expected launch date, the RV Technical Institute (RVTI) will open online Level 2 training courses.
The four-week course will be offered as a hybrid mix of online and in-person training or fully in-person education at RVTI’s Elkhart, Indiana, campus. The class will run from Aug. 2-27 and subjects covered will include electric, water, appliances, propane tank, generators, and chassis.
When RVTI Executive Director Curt Hemmeler announced Level 1 online classes opening in October 2020, the goal was to launch Level 2 classes by June 1, 2021.
The timeline was not pushed back by pandemic delays, though, but by thoughtful decision. Hemmeler said getting a hybrid model to work was key to the August release.
“The idea has been around since I started here,” he said. “I knew from my educational background, everybody thinks online training, that is the answer. I knew, especially with technicians, their mindset is not necessarily conducive to that kind of learning. Some people learn better visually than they do reading. The hybrid idea is the best of all worlds.”
Hemmeler said Bill Stewart’s recent addition as director of education helped shape the instruction. June strategy sessions also played a role in the later start date.
“I have always wanted to put ourselves in the position where nobody could say, ‘There is no way for me to get the training,’” Hemmeler said. “We now have met every appetite for training – in-person, online, a combination, or working through a learning partner. There is no way someone cannot get trained.”
The in-person Level 2 option requires attendance for all four weeks and includes classroom instruction and hands-on labs. In the hybrid model, students take online courses for three weeks, then attend in-person the final week to perform hands-on labs and activities.
Online courses will take an estimated 27.5 hours each week to complete the coursework. Review and proctored certification testing will occur Aug. 26-27.
