Beshear, community leaders officially open employee training center for Ford EV plant in Hardin County

GLENDALE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined community and business leaders Wednesday in officially opening a new facility in Glendale that will train employees of the new BlueOval SK electric vehicle battery plant.

More than 700 people have already been hired for the first battery plant, which is on track to open in 2025 with 2,500 employees. The second factory is still under construction, but there's no timeline for when it will open.

"The exciting part for Kentucky is we're ahead of the game," Beshear said Wednesday. "Anyone who has paused building their facilities ... is going to be six years behind BlueOval SK in terms of being able to meet market demand."

BlueOval SK, a joint venture between Ford and Korean partner SK On, is on track to start making batteries for Ford and Lincoln EVs next year, BlueOval SK CEO Michael Adams said last month.

The $5.8 billion pair of battery plants under construction about 45 miles south of Louisville represent the biggest economic development project in Kentucky history. Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday compared BlueOval SK to Toyota’s decision to build its Georgetown, Kentucky. factory in the late 1980s.

ECTC BlueOval Training Center — The training at the new facility — a 24,000-square-foot satellite campus for Elizabethtown Community & Technical College — will encompass battery knowledge, proprietary manufacturing processes and more. May 8, 2024. *(WDRB Photo)*

The training at the new facility — a 24,000-square-foot satellite campus for Elizabethtown Community & Technical College — will encompass battery knowledge, proprietary manufacturing processes and more.

BlueOval SK is hiring from the high school to college level, and many of its future operators, technicians and engineers will be trained here. And the company will pay its employees while they learn the skills for the job.

"What could be more important than leaving a state better than we found it, with more opportunities for our kids and our grandkids, making that intergenerational change?" Beshear said.

EVs are a growing portion of the auto market, but the pace hasn’t matched automakers’ expectations. That has led Ford and other carmakers to push back some of their EV ambitions. Ford last year indefinitely delayed the start of production at the second of the two EV battery plants in Kentucky as part of a plan to put off about $12 billion in EV-related investments. It has also delayed production of a planned three-row EV and a new all-electric pickup, while reducing the number of F-150 Lightning EV trucks made at its plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

The training center will model different aspects of the plants, an opportunity changing lives and putting the commonwealth center stage for EVs.

"Simply put, our people are and always will be our most valuable asset," said Justin Pate, president and CEO of ECTC. "For those who felt that they had to go elsewhere to learn, train and find success, your home of Hardin County and central Kentucky is now that destination."

If you're interested in learning more about available positions at the plant, click here.

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