Hankook Tire invests into next generation rubber professionals in Hungary as part of its long-term investment. Hankook Tire will double its manufacturing capacity to 10 million tyres per annum by 2011 in Hungary. Along with the development of its manufacturing facility Hankook Tire invests into the education of unemployed workers. Hankook Tire will employ another 700 well trained workers, 450 in 2010 and 250 in 2011.
The industry in Hungary demands technically trained workers. Committed to long-term investment in Hungary, Hankook Tire launched a tyre manufacturer vocational education and training programme in cooperation with Regional Labour Offices and Lorántffy Zsuzsanna Secondary School in 2009. Registered unemployed workers can apply for the programme and Hankook Tire offers a guaranteed, long-term and safe job for those completing the course successfully. The training is registered with the National Education Register and participants receive a vocational qualification at the end of the course.
The 4-month-long (500 hours) programme consists of academic and technical sessions. Subjects include technology, chemistry, academic skills of the manufacturing process, raw materials, measurement, mechanics, work safety, environment protection and legal regulation. The curriculum covers different fields of tyre manufacturing, from mixing to quality control. The 200-hour-long academic training is managed by the secondary school, and the 300-hour-long technical training is held at Hankook Tire’s state-of-the-art European factory, supplied with the very latest industrial technology.

Hankook Tire’s partnership with a secondary school and the five regional Labour Offices has proved to be a success. Up to   the end of March nine courses have already started with the participation of more than 270 registered unemployed workers. Hankook Tire has already employed 131 of the well trained next generation rubber professionals completing the course. The programme continues throughout the year, eighteen  courses will run in 2010.

“Qualified professionals are the key to our success. Not only is Hankook Tire committed to expand our manufacturing facility at Rácalmás, but also we are committed to the local community. That is why we invest into the education and training of registered unemployed workers, and guarantee them a long-term safe job when they become rubber professionals. We are proud to create long-term safe jobs thus offering perspective to unemployed people and contribute to the local community” – said Sang II Lee, Hankook Tire Hungary Ltd. Managing Director.

“We find the tyre manufacturer NQR training very successful and important. There is no better training, which provides a safe and long-term job at the end of the course.” – said Ferenc Soós, Deputy Director General for Central Transdanubian Labor Office.