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Job fair attendees leave the WIN Job Center in Belden after learning about employment with Toyota Boshoku Mississippi. The company plans to
contact potential employees next week. The job fair continues today and Saturday. (Thomas Wells)
"I just moved from Hattiesburg, so I came here to see if they have something," he said.
Gray was among hundreds of people on Thursday applying for jobs at a three-day job fair that runs through Saturday.
Taking groups of 40 at a time, TBMS officials spoke to eager job applicants at the WIN Job Center in Belden about the company, the jobs that were available and how much they would get paid.
Boshoku, a Tier 1 supplier for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, has 99 employees at its plant in Dorsey, but needs to have 250 by the start of production in October.
That's about the time that TMMMS, located in Blue Springs, is expected to start rolling out Toyota's popular Corolla sedan.
"We're looking for manufacturing team members - who will be putting together seats and door panels for the Corolla, production control specialists, material handlers, maintenance technicians, an injection mold engineer and an inspection mold technician," said Shantay Conley, a human resources specialist for Toyota Boshoku.
The 404,000-square-foot Dorsey facility represents a $46 million investment. The company will make seats, door panels and sun visors for the Corolla.
By mid-morning, some 200 people had packed the center to get an application and to hear the TBMS presentation.
The parking lot was full, so vehicles were parked along the side of the Adams Farm Road and up toward McCullough Boulevard.
Paula White was in the second group of applicants who listened to the TBMS presentation.
"It sounds like a good company, with good pay," said the Pontotoc resident who's looking to turn part-time work into a full-time job.
Applicants were told team members will start at $11.15 an hour and top out at $14.65 in two years, White said.
"And they said that promotions would come pretty quickly, too," she said.
Conley said TBMS officials would review the applications and contact potential employees next week.
"We'll bring them in and test them on their knowledge skills," she said.
Once operations begin, TBMS will work two shifts Monday through Friday - 6:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 3:15 a.m., Conley said.
"We won't be working Saturdays - unless Toyota says it's going to work Saturdays," she said.
With a double-digit unemployment rate gripping Northeast Mississippi the past two years, leaders hope Toyota and its suppliers will help lessen the pain as the Japanese automaker ramps up operations.
Toyota Mississippi is scheduled to open this fall and employ about 1,200 people. When running at full capacity, expected to be sometime next year, that number should increase to 2,000. Toyota suppliers are expected to add another 2,000 jobs.
Contact Dennis Seid at (662) 678-1578 or dennis.seid@jouranlinc.com.
Job fair continues
- Toyota Boshoku Mississippi is taking applications for production team members, production control specialists, material handlers, maintenance technicians, an injection mold engineer and an inspection mold technician for its Dorsey plant.
- The job fair at the WIN Job Center in Belden continues today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Another one next week
- Diversity-Vuteq, a Toyota supplier in New Albany and Blue Springs, will have a job fair June 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and June 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Magnolia Civic Center in New Albany.
- The company is looking for material handlers, forklift operators, machine operators, injection mold technicians and skilled maintenance workers.
- The New Albany plant will make injected molded parts and glass assembly for TMMMS, while the Blue Springs operation will provide internal logistics.