LANSING — Michigan and federal officials unveiled a pilot program to train workers for battery manufacturing jobs Tuesday, touting the potential to “define the future” as the auto industry shifts to electric vehicle manufacturing.

At the United Auto Workers Local 652 union hall in Lansing, U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm — along with current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, UAW president Shawn Fain and other dignitaries — said the Department of Energy is currently scouting pilot locations for the Battery Workforce Initiative to help prepare workers for battery manufacturing jobs.

“The electric vehicle revolution is happening, and the question is, can we take care of all of the pieces to make it successful,” Granholm said, calling the training program part of President Joe Biden’s “holistic strategy” for the looming shift.

It’s not clear if any of the training centers will be in Michigan, which is home to General Motors, Ford Motor Co and Stellantis facilities, along with numerous other auto industry companies.

Locations for the pilot program are set to be finalized in April, Granholm said, noting the goal is to have a workable training module finalized in the next year or two to coincide with new battery factories opening.

The announcement comes as automakers and Michigan officials ramp up investments in electric vehicle production. Electric vehicles currently account for 1% of all cars on the road in the United States, but are expected to account for 10% of sales this year, an increase from about 8% in 2023.

Democratic officials like Biden and Whitmer have embraced electric vehicles as an opportunity to invest in cleaner energy sources while preserving manufacturing jobs.

But former President Donald Trump and other critics argue such a shift would result in job losses for auto workers and shift vehicle production overseas, pointing to slower-than-expected sales growth.

On Tuesday, Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su contested the implication that job loss is inevitable, telling reporters it’s “not a zero-sum game” between cleaner energy and well paid union jobs.

And Whitmer said training for the most in-demand occupations would help form a foundation for centering “the supply chain of electric vehicle production, from batteries to brakes,” in Michigan.

Tuesday’s stop in Lansing was one of several events Granholm and other officials are hosting in Midwest states to promote the Biden administration’s energy policy.

As part of her tour, Granholm is set to visit LG Energy Solution in Holland and tour a training center for the Holtec Palisades plant, a shuttered nuclear power plant on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Van Buren County set to restart with state and federal government backing.