Kia Supplier, Quick Start Ink Jobs Deal

A major Kia Motors supplier has signed a deal with Georgia’s Quick Start training program to prepare hundreds of production workers.

Korea's Sewon, state and local officials attended the agreement ceremony which will train upwards of 600 workers for their Lagrange plant.

Sean McMillan, director of Quick Start's western operations says the signing is a positive step in a gloomy jobs market:

"In the times that we're living in now, with the economy being front and center, and a lot of negativity that's being heard by the public, [it's] a great, great ray of hope for many people in this community to have an opportunity to go back to work."

The firm plans to open the 420,000 square-foot factory in April. The plant will make chassis and body parts for the Kia car plant, in nearby West Point.

Trainees will learn the necessary production line skills at West Georgia Technical College.

The Kia plant is slated to begin production this fall.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Kia operation.

Kia Training Center Opens

Perdue, Kia and state officials inaugurate the training center at West Point. (Robin Trimarchi/Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

Governor Sonny Perdue, Kia Motors President Euisun Chung, and state and local officials gathered at a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for on Tuesday for the opening of Kia Motors' training center in West Point.

“This center is the linchpin in providing both an opportunity for Georgia’s citizens and a quality workforce for Kia that will guarantee the success of this project,” Perdue said.

“The state of Georgia and especially Georgia Quick Start have provided exceptional support for our project,” said President Chung.

The center, which houses robotics, welding and electronics labs, classrooms, and related equipment, will train teams for car making.

The Kia facility, its first in the U.S., will eventually produce 300,000 vehicles a year, and impact Georgia's economy to the tune of some $4 billion per year, according to a Georgia Tech study commissioned by the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

The plant is set to open in 2009.

Click here for more GPB coverage of the KIA plant, and its effect on the area.

Georgia #1 for workforce training

Georgia is Number 1 for workforce training in the U.S. according to Expansion Management magazine. The magazine ranked Georgia in first place based on a survey of more than 80 site selection professionals. The magazine also notes that Georgia has ranked first or second for the last six years. The magazine credits Georgia’s Quick Start program, which trains workers for companies for free.