Panasonic x Johnson Community College X Kansas City Community College Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program

Panasonic is building the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturing plant in De Soto, Kansas, which is set to begin production in the spring of 2025. In preparation for its launch, Panasonic partnered with Johnson Community College and Kansas City Community College to deveop an apprenticeship program that involves classes at the community college and on-the-job training. Once the program is completed, students will be among the first of the plant's expected 4,000 workers. As part of the program, Panasonic also paid for the students' tuition and the instructor's salary.

Students — recruited for the opportunity by Panasonic — were participants in an eight-week apprenticeship course that involves classes at the community college and on-the-job training. When they’re done, they will be among the first workers at the company’s new electric vehicle battery factory in nearby De Soto, Kansas. The $4 billion manufacturing plant — touted as the largest EV battery factory in the world — is expected to open in early summer and eventually employ roughly 4,000 people. Panasonic also paid for the students’ tuition, as well as the instructor’s salary.

Apprenticeship programs like this one have been heralded as the future of workforce development. Born out of partnerships between industry and community colleges, these short-term programs offer credentials closely aligned with employer needs and are often referred to as the pathway to high-skill, high-demand, high-wage jobs. In this case, Panasonic and two Kansas colleges created theirs in a matter of months, adapting an existing curriculum to meet factory demand.