Toyota invests in its workforce in the U.S.A

Toyota announced three large-scale workforce readiness initiatives at its Kentucky plant to develop future talent and further train its skilled team members.

The plant will be collaborating with the state's Scott county schools to launch the 4T Academy (short for: Team, Teach, Together, Toyota), a hands-on training programme that will provide students with a direct pathway to a manufacturing career.

Toyota Kentucky employs nearly 10,000 staff and is set to become the first Toyota facility in North America to assemble a battery electric vehicle

Students in this programme will follow a state-approved curriculum in traditional high school classes while learning and training in a simulated factory environment. The 4T Academy will also house a collaborative classroom space, electric and pneumatic tool training stations, a simulated vehicle production line, and many other high-tech components.

July 2024 also marks the one-year anniversary of Toyota's Driving Possibilities programme in partnership with the schools in the state's Fayette and Scott counties. As a next step in its strategic plan, Toyota is providing 10 examples of the Sienna to partner schools to help meet student transportation challenges.

Toyota's Driving Possibilities initiative centres on three key areas in Kentucky: Expand literacy and language resources, build education and industry partnerships, and address transportation barriers. The career readiness initiative aims to close educational gaps through hands-on science, technology, engineering and math programming while addressing the essential needs of students and families.

Finally, Toyota is additionally developing its future workforce at its Kentucky plant. The plant has seen the opening of a new 1,800sqm onsite training centre to provide its team members with the opportunity to learn new technologies and advanced manufacturing processes.

Toyota Kentucky is Toyota's largest plant globally, employing nearly 10,000 staff in advanced manufacturing careers. The site is set to become the first Toyota facility in North America to assemble a battery electric vehicle come late 2025/early 2026.