Toyota Australia has today launched the first phase of its ‘DRIVE’ program to assist employees prepare for their future after the end of manufacturing in 2017.
For the next four years, employees will be able to visit DRIVE centres located at both the Altona manufacturing plant and Port Melbourne head office to speak to case managers about their future plans.
During the first phase, employees will be able to obtain information on other industries, attend a scheduled career day and receive referrals for financial services and other assistance programs.
Toyota Australia, media and external affairs manager – corporate affairs – Kate Beck told AutoTalk: “The DRIVE program is only available to Toyota Australia employees impacted by the decision to close manufacturing, it includes those directly related to manufacturing and those in our corporate functions, but not dealers as they are private franchises.”
When asked if employees would be given the chance to be trained or retrenched within the company into other jobs such as sale roles, Beck adds: “Regarding opportunities within Toyota Australia, where possible we will always look at redeployment opportunities within the business. However, given the decision to close manufacturing will also impact on our corporate functions, it is not known how many redeployment opportunities there will be.”
Toyota Australia president, Dave Buttner, notes: “The DRIVE program will act as a one-stop shop for employees to be in the best possible position of finding a new job in the future.”
Although the plant will remain open until 2017, employees are encouraged to start planning for their future now so that they have sufficient time to prepare for roles in other industries.
“The first phase of the program will encourage employees to think about what they want to do and explore potential new industries and career options,” Buttner adds.
“We don’t want our employees to feel rushed into making such big decisions, which is why we are waiting until next year to launch the next phase of the program.”
The second phase of the DRIVE program will commence in mid-2015 and will provide employees with jobs skills training, individual career plans and the opportunity to access company-sponsored training and further study.
Approximately 2500 jobs directly associated with manufacturing will be impacted by the plant’s closure in 2017. It is still to be determined how many jobs will be impacted from the corporate functions, with this expected to be confirmed by the end of this year.
The DRIVE centres will remain open for six months after the closure of manufacturing. If a job closes before the end of 2017 for business reasons, affected employees will still be able to access DRIVE services until they find a new job or the centres close.
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