KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. says greater than 43,000 applied online
LaGrange, Ga. Feb. 11, 2008 – KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc., announced today that it received more than 43,000 applications during its recent 30-day open application period which ran from Jan. 8 through Feb. 7, 2008.“We were pleasantly surprised with the response we received from people interested in joining the KIA team,” said Randy Jackson, director of human resources at KIA. “From our preliminary review of the candidates, we can confidently say that this region has a top-quality workforce.”
KIA used an innovative online-only process to collect applications for the three main positions that will staff the $1.2 billion assembly plant – production, maintenance, and tool-and-die maintenance. By using an online-only application process, KIA was able to set a new benchmark for the Industry, and guarantee that all applicants had equal opportunity to apply.
“Our facility will operate with state-of-the-art technology,” Jackson said, “and by completing the online application, these applicants have all demonstrated that they have the basic skills needed to prepare them for the training they will receive if selected to join the KIA team.”
Jackson added that the review of applications will now begin. Once completed, the first round of candidates will be invited for interviews and orientation in March. Candidates that successfully pass that first stage of the selection process will then be scheduled for pre-employment training which includes exercises designed to evaluate a specific set of team skills, mindset and attributes.
“Quick Start, Georgia’s well-known workforce training program, has designed an excellent program to aid us in selecting the best team members from among the thousands of applicants,” Jackson explained. “We have unique requirements for our advanced manufacturing processes, and Quick Start’s expertise has proved invaluable in helping us prepare to build our team.”
Jackson noted that around 75% of applicants are from Georgia. The balance was from neighboring states. The company expects to make its initial round of preliminary job offers in April.
Jackson also commended the Georgia Department of Labor staff for their excellent support of KIA during the application process, and thanked the Technical College System of Georgia for hosting numerous promotional events at many of its colleges around the state.
“Additional thanks need to go to the local communities and all the print, radio and TV media in the region,” Jackson added. “They helped create awareness and spread the word about this innovative, online process, and they all contributed to our success.”
“We’re right on schedule with our plans for start-up,” Jackson said. “And with the quality of applicants we’ve seen thus far, we anticipate that we’ll be staffed, trained and ready to go next year.”
The assembly facility is scheduled to begin commercial production of vehicles in November 2009. At full capacity it will produce 300,000 vehicles annually.