IN LORDSTOWN, OHIO, FOXCONN AND YSU WILL COLLABORATE TO BUILD AN EV TALENT CULTIVATION CENTER In Lordstown, Ohio, where Foxconn has an EV manufacturing facility, Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) has announced intentions to collaborate with Youngstown State University (YSU) to establish an electrical vehicle (EV) workforce training and innovation center.
According to a statement from Foxconn, the center will concentrate on assisting the developing EV industry in creating a sustainable workforce around advanced manufacturing, energy storage, and other integrated solutions like AI, 5G, and cybersecurity.
The center’s short- and long-term development strategies will be developed collaboratively by the two parties, and a formal agreement of understanding and collaboration is expected to be finalized within the next few months, according to the statement.
According to Jerry Hsiao, chief product officer at Foxconn, “As our EV production in Ohio continues to develop, Foxconn is happy to engage with academic partners like YSU to meet the demand for highly qualified workforce in the future.”
Hsiao stated, “Foxconn will reinvent contract design and manufacturing services (CDMS) inside the automotive sector by using its manufacturing ability.”
Jim Tressel, president of Youngstown State University, expressed the expectation that the center would benefit the local economy as well as the nation as a whole.
According to Tressel, “Now is the moment to break through institutional and geographic walls to create workforce solutions that expedite the ability for business, academia, government, and workforce organizations to collaborate and more quickly deploy resources to address industrial workforce demands.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy hired YSU to carry out a nationwide and local labor market analysis of the electric vehicle energy storage sector. Findings, according to Jennifer Oddo, executive director of YSU’s Workforce Education and Innovation, strongly support the need for a national workforce center to hasten the adoption of initiatives like registered apprenticeship, stackable industry credentials, and new applied learning models that cater to the changing demands of the business world.
