Honda Motors signed the White House “Pledge to America’s Workers” at its Technical Development Center in Marysville, Ohio Wednesday, January 22nd, committing to offer job training opportunities for 50,000 workers through 2025.
In a statement, executive VP of Honda North America Rick Schostek said, “Honda’s success has always been dependent on our dedicated and skilled associates. As we embark on our fifth decade of manufacturing products in America, we remain committed to creating new opportunities to help the next generation workforce develop the critical skills needed to compete in the modern age of mobility.”
At press time, companies signing the White House initiative have pledged to provide training opportunities to more than a combined 14 million workers. Honda’s 50,000-worker pledge is roughly on par with pledges from fellow automakers Ford, GM, and Hyundai, who pledged 55,000; 46,000; and 47,000 job-training opportunities, respectively.
Honda also announced they would sponsor the National Association of Manufacturers’ “Creators Wanted” initiative, intended to “spur manufacturing employment, expose prospective employees and youth to the many aspects of the manufacturing industry and address misperceptions about careers in the manufacturing industry.”
NAM CEO Jay Timmons said, “Honda is setting a powerful example of how our industry is stepping up to solve one of the defining challenges of our time.” Honda cited a 2018 study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute that estimated 2.4 million manufacturing jobs would go unfilled if the current skills gap goes unaddressed.
