Savannah Technical College offering new Electric vehicle production training program this summer

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Hyundai and Savannah Technical College penning a new partnership aiming to get students trained to work at the automaker’s Bryan County plant.

“When a big company like Hyundai comes to the area, and then they come to you, ‘Hey, hey can you do an agreement with us?’ It is huge for us,” Economic Development V.P. Tal Loos said.

The agreement creates an electric vehicle production training program at the college.

School officials says those that complete the course will be preferred for employment at Hyundai’s Metaplant America or HMGMA.

“Think of how many have gone to colleges or have gone through classes and at the end think, ‘Oh now I have to go out and find a job.’ Knowing that you have that preferred plenty employment, that you can get out there and that you can get that job, that’s huge,” Loos said.

Savannah Tech says the program can be finished in seven and a half weeks.

It will broken up into three parts covering fundamentals in automotive and electric vehicles.

Hyundai aims to use the program to fill jobs for the site’s general production team.

Plant officials say they’re looking to hire as many as $1,000 people for those jobs by the end of 2024 with a starting pay of $23.00 and 20 cents an hour.

“We’re really looking at this as an extended interview. We know that people who complete this program will be electric vehicle professionals. They’re going to understand what we’re building, that product at the end. So we’re going to be ready at the very end to come in, to interview, and to hire,” Brent Stubbs said.

The company now working with one of the area’s technical schools to get people trained before production is set to start in early 20-25.

“We haven’t had a car manufacturer in this community before. Getting that exposure to car specifics, particularly electric vehicle specifics, I think is going to make people more prepared. A lot of people leading up to today have wondered, ‘How do you get a job at H.M.G.M.A. and now they’re going to know,” Stubbs said.

Hyundai officials say talks are already underway to bring this program to other area technical colleges.

As for the program at Savannah Tech school officials say they hope to start the first courses this summer.

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