KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Panasonic electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in De Soto, Kansas, is said to be the largest of its kind in the world when it opens.
One of the plant’s and the Kansas City-area's top priorities are hiring and training efforts. Panasonic leaders said they want to hire 4,000 employees total, with a goal of having 1,000 employees hired by this summer.
Careers range from experienced maintenance technician roles, leadership roles across HR, supply chain, operations, quality, and more, according to Panasonic representatives. To both train and fill these roles, Panasonic has already been relying on its education partners in the Kansas City area, like Johnson County Community College (JCCC) and Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC).
At KCKCC, students can apply to the Federation of Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program. Upon acceptance, FAME employers, which include companies like Garmin, Panasonic and more, will select students. The companies will then employ those students part-time in their facilities while they continue to take part-time classes through the Automation Engineer Technology (AET) Program at KCKCC.
KCKCC will host an open house on its AET Program with representatives from all of their FAME employers, including Panasonic, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 27th, at the Dr. Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center. The event is free and open to the public.
KCKCC has been training some of Panasonic's maintenance technicians since August, and started training some of its skilled operators in January, according to school officials.
But the college already teaches its current students to learn the ropes for potential future careers at big names like Garmin, Amsted Rail, Catalent and other big local names.
Those interested in applying for a job at Panasonic can learn more about the De Soto plant’s openings through a portal on Panasonic’s website by filtering the location.
Pay ranges between $20 and $30 an hour. The spokesperson also said Panasonic Energy offers comprehensive benefits and resources to its employees and their families, including, but not limited to, medical, prescription drug coverage, telehealth, vision, dental, mental health, life insurance, legal plan, pet insurance, retirement savings plan and competitive paid time off.
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
