EcoPro partners with schools to secure skilled workforce in Hungary
EcoPro Global Hungary CEO Chang Sun-dong, right, poses with Debreceni Szakkepzesi Centrum President Zsolt Tirpak, second from right, Feb. 1, after the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the vocational training school in Hungary to employ its graduates at its cathode material manufacturing plant in the city scheduled for completion next year. Courtesy of EcoPro
EcoPro has partnered with a vocational training institute in Hungary to secure a skilled workforce for its cathode manufacturing operation in the country, the battery materials developer said Monday.
This is the latest in a series of agreements the company has sealed here and abroad over the past year to secure production capability in the European nation, where it plans to manufacture over 100,000 tons of cathode materials annually starting next year.
The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the job training center in the city of Debrecen. Chang Sun-dong, CEO of EcoPro Global Hungary, and Zsolt Tirpak, president of Debreceni Szakkepzesi Centrum, signed the MOU.
The number of students at the training center has recently skyrocketed from 2,500 to 12,000, according to the company. The company expects the rich pool of trainees will be a stable source of skilled workers with training experience in chemicals and specialties in secondary cell production.
Tirpak said the school has seen an increasing number of companies and investors providing diverse job opportunities to students.
"We've signed the deal to systemically train young Hungarians and provide them with quality career opportunities," Chang said. "Once our factory is completed in Debrecen by 2025, it will create about 600 new jobs."
The company broke ground in April 2023 on its new cathode materials plant in Debrecen. It invested 383 billion won ($287 million) for the project.
Last month, EcoPro signed an MOU with the University of Debrecen to boost personnel exchanges. It is preceded by the company's agreements under a similar purpose with Hungary's Eotvos Lorand University last October and with the Hungarian program under Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul last February.
The company will keep forming new ties with institutes in Hungary to strengthen its network within the European nation to train and prepare a key workforce for its upcoming plant, a company official said.
Thirty-four new employees to the company's offshoot company in Hungary were invited to Korea for job orientation last October.