Ford's BlueOval SK Battery Park opens training center, hires 700 workers to date

BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, the future home of Ford's electric vehicle battery production, opened its job training center Wednesday.

The joint venture battery park between Ford Motor Co. and SK On — a nearly $6 billion promise to build two EV battery plants in Kentucky — is expected to hire 5,000 workers total. To date, roughly 700 workers have already been hired.

"Our goal is to be the EV capital of the United States of America," Gov. Andy Beshear previously told The Courier Journal. "So, every time we have another announcement of being part of that EV cycle, we move closer to moving from the EV battery production capital of the United States of America to just the electric vehicle capital of the United States of America."

The Elizabethtown Community and Technical College BlueOval SK Training Center is expected to start onboarding battery park employees in classes in June, Beshear said. The site is the lone co-branded learning center within the state community college system, The Courier Journal previously reported.

"Partnerships like this one help [Kentucky Community and Technical College System] rise to the challenge to meet the needs of our state’s employers and prepare the workforce of tomorrow to address Kentucky’s labor shortages,” KCTCS President Ryan Quarles said in a press release.

The 42,000-square-foot training center represents a $25 million investment by the state. A $10 million grant to support the training and development at the center was also announced by Beshear in November.

BlueOval SK offers hands-on and paid training for its employees. In October, BlueOval SK announced pay would start at $24 hourly and go up to $37.50 based on experience, The Courier Journal previously reported.

Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: BlueOval SK Battery Park opens training center, hires 700 workers