Toyota brings education opportunities to high school students in Scott Co.

SCOTT CO., Ky (LEX 18) — The Toyota 4T Academy is a new program designed to teach high school juniors and seniors about a career in manufacturing. The Toyota partnership with Scott County Schools is unique to students at Scott County and Great Crossing High Schools.

This is the first year of the program, which has 19 juniors enrolled.

“I really wanted to do something after high school, but I wasn’t for sure on what I wanted to do,” said one student, Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Ruiz. “I was like, ‘this sounds like a pretty good thing to do.’”

Another student, Mia Lumpkins, added, “I want to do the program next year, and hopefully, I get a job offer here, and I can just go to Toyota and get straight into the workforce.”

“Not all the kids are going to end up in college, said Jeff Hill, production team leader at Toyota. Hill also leads the instruction of Toyota content at the academy. “Some of these kids will end up in college, but I wanted to be able to prepare them for the opportunity to be more successful faster at the company than even I was.”

Once a week, these juniors get to move from the classroom to a learning lab full of stations and equipment, where Hill teaches the Toyota content.

“This is a, what we call a dojo for manufacturing, for assembly, to get practice for some of the skills,” Hill said.

Classroom instructor Billy Penn said, “I think this gives them an opportunity, maybe if they’re unsure of exactly what they want to do, this gives them an opportunity to go into the workforce.”

The hands-on experience especially benefits the students at the academy. Any students who enter into their second year at the academy also have the chance to earn $18 an hour during designated class time.

Students who complete both years could also be offered a full-time job at Toyota after graduation.

“My dad works at Toyota. He’s been working there like 30+ year,” Lumpkins said. “I already kind of thought I wanted to do Toyota, but I didn’t know exactly what.”

Rodriguez-Ruiz said, “now that I’m here, I feel like maybe I just have a better understanding of what I want to do after, and I feel like this might be the right path for me.”

The 4T Academy will soon start recruiting for next year’s junior class. To learn more, click here.