Kia Georgia presented a $100,000 donation to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Foundation at an event in Atlanta celebrating TCSG’s top students and instructors. Kia Georgia President and CEO, Stuart Countess presented the check at TCSG’s annual Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) and Rick Perkins Awards banquet in Buckhead.
“We want to thank Stuart and everyone at Kia Georgia for their continued partnership and for this generous gift to support our technical college students,” said TCSG Commissioner, Greg Dozier. “Kia is a valued partner of TCSG and a remarkable corporate citizen in Georgia. This funding will make a lasting impact on technical college students by helping them remain on track to graduate and join Georgia’s world-class workforce.”
Since 2016, Kia Georgia has graciously provided funding to award the state GOAL winner with a brand-new Kia as the grand prize. This year’s winner will drive home a 2023 Kia K5, which is built at the Kia facility in West Point. In addition to awarding a new vehicle to the top student, the remaining funding will support The Last Mile Fund to provide gap funding for the more than 131,000 technical education students served within TCSG.
“The Technical College System of Georgia undergirds the fundamental concept of workforce development through its ability to adapt and adjust to the evolving technical needs of the state’s industries and businesses,” remarked Stuart Countess, President & CEO of Kia Georgia. “The measure of its impact can be seen through the economic growth in our great state and the continued application of the latest technologies in manufacturing, logistics, and health care, just to name a few. Kia Georgia applauds the success of the TCSG and the commitment of its outstanding team.”
In 2006, Kia made one of the largest single foreign investments in the history of Georgia by establishing a state-of-the-art-production facility in West Point. With an annual capacity of more than 340,000 vehicles, Kia Georgia is home of the Telluride SUV, Sorento SUV, Sportage SUV, and K5 midsize sedan. The company recently announced plans to produce the Kia EV9 at the West Point facility, launching the brand’s first battery-electric vehicle to be produced in the U.S. This advanced manufacturing facility represents a $1.9 billion investment on a 2,200-acre site, operating 24 hours a day.
Kia Georgia’s partnership with TCSG has produced a Maintenance Certification Program through collaboration with Quick Start to upskill production team members to perform maintenance tasks on the company’s highly automated production equipment. The program was then expanded into West Georgia Technical College where it was integrated with the standard offerings of the campus. This program provides a steady stream of qualified candidates to fill the ever-growing need of maintenance team members at Kia Georgia, as well as other local manufacturers.
