Eleven seniors from New Albany and Union County High Schools graduated recently from Toyota’s 4T Academy, making history as the inaugural class at Toyota Mississippi. The program, designed to help students get under the hood of advanced manufacturing, includes classroom instruction, teamwork and training at Toyota Mississippi. 

In 2023, Toyota announced a $2 million investment to expand 4T to Mississippi to provide high school students with access to an innovative pathway program designed to put students in the driver’s seat of their careers. Three years later, the first cohort of students are ready to make their mark on the world and become part of the Toyota family with conditional, full-time job offers awaiting them. 

“With this ‘education meets industry’ partnership, students are taught valuable soft skills like communication, problem-solving, and collaboration, putting them on track for their future career,” said Troy Allen, Toyota Mississippi general manager of manufacturing. “By working collaboratively, instructors from both the school district and Toyota, help steer students through challenges in the classroom and workplace while boosting their confidence and skills.” 

During their senior year, students split time between the classroom and Toyota Mississippi assembling Toyota Corollas. They earn valuable experience and $17 an hour all while finishing high school. The program is housed in New Albany School District’s Center for Innovation, a 3,000-square-foot classroom with electric and pneumatic tool-training stations, a simulated vehicle production line, virtual reality simulators and cobots. 

Toyota Mississippi committed $2 million to implement its 4T Academy and secure a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s ARISE program awarded to New Albany School District in 2023. 

Toyota’s 4T Academy has community partnerships in Indiana, West Virginia, Mississippi and Kentucky and was established in 2020 in partnership with Purdue IN-MaC.