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Jesup, Georgia 31545

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

75

A diploma and soft skills increase odds of employment

We are in the middle of graduation season. Graduates of all levels are waving diplomas. Many are looking for jobs. But no matter what level of their education, they need to hear what Randy Jackson has to say. No, hes not the Randy Jackson of American Idol. The Randy I heard cant help you get a Carrie Underwoodtype recording contract, but he can help improve your chances of getting a job. Maybe the paycheck wont be from his company. But if you do what he recommends, you will be more marketable as a candidate for employment. Randy Jackson is vice president of KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia Inc. (KMMG). No doubt youve read of the $1 billion Korean investment, just off I-85 south in Troup County. Besides employing 3,000, the venture has created another 8,000 jobs near the Alabama line. Next time youre that way, and you see the KIA water tower, veer off the interstate and make a lap around West Point. See how 11,000 new paychecks revived an almost comatose community and the surrounding area. And if you get the opportunity to tour the sprawling automotive plant, dont hesitate. Be sure your first stop is the Technical College System of Georgias Quick Start training facility. The states taxpayers funded the $25 million classroom that evaluates prospective KIA workers and trains the new hires. The aver-

My Opinion
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age KIA income is $50,000 per year. We can teach technical-side skills, Jackson said. But an DINK important NeSMITH mindset is to Chairman get up and go to work. You learn that before you are 10 years old. KIA is eager to detect a persons soft skillsattributes beyond classroom learning. The first things on KIAs check- list are: Does the person show up early for the interview? And when theres a scheduled break, does the person linger or promptly report back? The KIA plant is an assembly line, but it wouldnt be anything automotive pioneer Henry Ford would recognize. Jackson describes the way humans and robots interact to be like a ballet. Every station function is timed at 57 seconds, so that every 57 seconds a vehicle rolls off the line. And every two hours, teams switch stations, requiring multiple skill sets. The lines rarely stop, producing 360,000 vehicles every 365 days. Before you are hired by KIA, you have to make an investment of time and energy. You volunteer to be tested and demonstrate your abilities in the Quick Start

facility. With the clock ticking, you approach a station, read the instructions, perform the task and keep moving through the 27 KIA functions. Your performance is videoed and evaluated. You may ace that segment of the tryout, but Randy Jackson is just as interested in your soft skills. Teamwork is vital at KIA. Compatibility is crucial. He wants to know whether a person has person-to-person communication skills. Does the individual look you in the eye when speaking? Does the applicant have leadership potential? Leaders, at all levels, are in demand. KMMG is growth-minded. It uses only 600 acres of its 2,200 acres, but Jackson is thinking 10 years down the road. Those future workers are now in the sixth grade, he said. He believes the educational process is a four-legged stool, supported by the system, the teachers, the students and the parents. And he hopes the students, along with traditional academics, are gaining much-needed soft skills. KIA is not alone in its desire to employ people with soft skills. Applicants can look highly qualified on paper or in an e-mail. But when put in a work environment, requiring interaction with others, some people are lost, maybe unemployable. On the way home from West Point, the irony hit me. Oldfashioned values, ingenuity and a strong work ethic built America. But it takes a company from Korea to remind us of that.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com