Posted on 07/03/2005 3:25:54 PM PDT by ItsJeff
WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) - Ontario workers are well-trained.
That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant.
Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train - helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled workforce in Cambridge.
"The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, whose members will see increased business with the new plant.
Acknowledging it was the "worst-kept secret" throughout Ontario's automotive industry, Toyota confirmed months of speculation Thursday by announcing plans to build a 1,300-worker factory in the southwestern Ontario city.
"Welcome to Woodstock - that's something I've been waiting a long time to say," Ray Tanguay, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, told hundreds gathered at a high school gymnasium.
The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually.
The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover research, training and infrastructure costs.
Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for the Woodstock project.
He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.
"The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said.
In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson.
"Most people don't think of our health-care system as being a competitive advantage," he said.
Tanguay said Toyota's decision on where to build its seventh North American plant was "not only about money."
"It's about being in the right place," he said, noting the company can rely on the expertise of experienced Cambridge workers to help get Woodstock up and running.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said the money the province and Ottawa are pledging for the project is well-spent. His government has committed $400 million, including the latest Toyota package, to the province's auto sector, which helped finance $5-billion worth of industry projects.
"I think that's a great investment that will more than pay for itself in terms of new jobs and new economic returns," McGuinty said.
The provincial funds for the auto sector were drawn from a fund set up to attract investments specifically in that industry. McGuinty said no similar industry funds are being planned for other sectors, but added the province wants to attract biotechnology companies - those working on multibillion-dollar advanced medical research.
"What we have done for auto we would like to be able to do for biotech," he said. "That's where we're lending some real focus to at the present time."
Similarly, Emmerson said Ottawa is looking to help out industries that create "clusters" of jobs around them - such as in aerospace, shipbuilding, telecommunications and forestry - where supply bases build around a large manufacturer.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
You get one guess.
"I think Toyota has a point. If I see another "its"/"it's" misuse, I will scream."
Then you need to relax. I have nearly a decade of post-graduate work under my belt and I just made the its/it's mistake earlier today. I know the difference. It's a mistake. People make them.
And, no, that does not make the mistaken person illiterate.
More than likely they'll continue to buy them because the maker is so concerned with quality that they go where they can get the best workers. Quality product is their bottom line.
And they're not "mistakes" because they are everywhere and constant.
Have you tried to hire someone lately to fill in data on a database? I have. The level of literacy is appalling.
this is such BS - we have displaced workers from industries that have been offshored to china and india - with college educations.
FWIW, I wonder how many Fortune 500 CEOs could pass a spelling test?
I see. Last time I drove through AL and GA, they all spoke English, last time I drove south of San Antonio I thought I was in Nuevo Laredo. And the drop out rate for Hispanics is around 46%.
It's not their job. Their job is to run a company where people are hired to be accurate.
Yet the last time I went to BFE, LA I couldn't find anyone who could read a map. People who could read a road sign without difficulty in the back bayou country were few and far between, too.
You could argue the same for FReepers :) I do this for love, not money :)
We can't find applicants capable of learning machine operation. A local employment service had to drop a question from their screening test because too many applicants were missing the question: "20 is what percent of 100?"
The National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, along with many parents, can take their share of the blame.
The situation is critical only if America plans to compete with China....
Your average inhabitant of NYC, San Fran, and Seattle is decidely more educated than the average Joe Schmoe is Po-dunk Alabama.
Doesn't answer your point. A CEO doesn't have to be a spelling genius...he has to hire people who spell adequately and have adequate grammar skills.
You thought you made a point by delfecting the topic.
No it's a testimony that Toyota put's more weight on engineers than people that know when "its"/it's misuse" is a problem. Try spellcheck if you're going to throw down on others for "English rules violations". Sheesh....
Neither does an autoworker or FReeper.
And, again, case-in-point...I said "delfecting," instead of "deflecting."
And I still got what you meant :)
Get a clue.
Spellcheck doesn't flag words that are misused.
I just wasn't rude enough to point out your error :)
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