Climate Tech VC
Charging Up With ChargerHelp
At ChargerHelp, our solution is two-fold: first, our technician workforce acts as the “attendant” for charging stations, and second, our data will ease the challenges from a heterogeneous EV charging industry.
We created an EV charging technician curriculum that is soon to be certified by the Department of Labor and which will act as a certification for the industry at large.
We start by looking for geographic areas with a concentration of at least 200 stations. We then partner with the local workforce development center that facilitates our recruiting process in that local community. Our last recruitment saw a little over 1,600 people apply for the 20 open positions. I think this number is a sign of the times and also a reflection of the quality of job we’ve brought to the market. We hope to be an example for other technology companies.
Our employees earn $30/hour minimum, full-time benefits, and are compensated throughout two electrical contractor certifications. ChargerHelp employees also get shares in our company – they’re treated as an integral part of the company, since it’s their work that generates our profit margin afterall.
ChargerHelp has done phenomenal work providing a working example of how to create an equitable and just green transition. How do you think that the massive tailwinds from Biden’s $2t infrastructure plan will expedite this just green transition? A lot of people have asked me about this. Honestly, I get worried about all of this new emphasis on our industry, especially around generating green jobs. Sometimes throwing a lot of money at a problem too quickly has adverse consequences. My fear is that too much money too quickly will cause everything that we’ve been touting about equity to disappear. We must ensure that this influx of money and interest is directed at the right folks.
We finally found the right group of investors. Trucks VC focuses on expanding the future of mobility, Kapor and JFF focus on workforce development impact, and EIP is backed by the utilities that run the charging industry.