Ford’s Blue Oval City campus was originally announced back in September as a new, sprawling complex set to be built in Stanton, Tennessee. There, the automaker will produce electric vehicles, including a next-generation electric Ford F-Series model, which will ride on its own dedicated platform, as well as batteries, while also housing suppliers and creating around 6,000 new jobs. But while this new piece of real estate is garnering most of the news, Ford also announced that its new BlueOvalSk Battery Park – a major component of the automaker’s joint-venture with SK Innovation – will open in Glendale, Kentucky in 2025. But Ford isn’t just building a pair of EV plants in The Bluegrass State – it’s also aiming to improve Kentucky’s education system, according to Louisville Business First.
Ford’s new EV plants are expected to create 5,000 jobs in Kentucky, which the automaker is aiming to fill with skilled workers in a tight job market. Thus, Greg Christensen, Ford’s electrical vehicle footprint director, explained that the automaker is already reaching out to the community with a series of education and workforce development efforts that may expand to include town hall meetings early next year.
“There’s connectivity that happens in vehicles today that will be augmented with electric vehicles,” Christensen said. “The vehicles will be smarter as they’re built.” As a result, Ford needs workers with skills far beyond what’s typically required in the automotive assembly process in areas such as chemistry, electronics, and computer programming.
To ensure it has enough qualified candidates when BlueOvalSK Battery Park opens in a few years, Ford is already partnering with community and education leaders on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, targeting high school students who may be interested in these sorts of careers. The automaker is also working with the governor’s office as it aims to open training centers that can provide curriculum and educational guidance.
Even though it’s difficult to find qualified workers in today’s job market, Ford remains confident that it can develop its next generation of factory workers in Kentucky. “We went to the area believing and knowing that we could get a great workforce – that we could develop a great workforce,” Christensen said.
We’ll have more on Ford’s new EV plants soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
I’m local to the louisville region… sorry nobody in the world can change louisville’s Jefferson county public school system. It’s as corrupt as New York. The rest of the districts can’t benefit from Ford. Their already there performance wise, but will be glad for additional athletic funds
I hope they’re working with the community colleges, too. My former boss’s boss is in charge of Jefferson County’s community and tech college.
I support the uaw completely. Employees need to be protected 100%. I have worked at the sk battery plant in Commerce Ga. The money was great but everything else was a joke never getting your pay right, making their own rules as they go! Not reporting to the department of labor they where laying off around 700 people. We came to work and within 1 hour we where let go with no notice because lack of work ( loss of contracts). I never seen anything about that in the news except to say a few layoffs. I could go on for ever how the company is but the uaw needs to be involved.