The “Equity in Childcare is Everyone’s Business” report released this month by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation stated many parents still lack the accessible and affordable child care they need to return to work.
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) in Huntsville, through a partnership with on-demand child care platform TOOTRiS, is providing child care assistance to its employees, including contributions towards the cost of care. TOOTRiS and other manufacturers like MTM can offer comprehensive child care assistance, which is critical to boosting recruitment, retention, and staff productivity.
This is especially important to MTM, which plans to hire up to another 1,000 team members in 2022. MTM recently announced a wage increase as well as a $3,000 recruitment and retention bonus for hourly team members. Their child care assistance program will add to the culture MTM is building at their facility.
TOOTRiS with its nationwide online network of over 180,000 child care providers, will create and manage a child care assistance program for MTM while providing its team members access from their PC or mobile device to hundreds of licensed child care options near their home or work. The platform also enables parents to find slots for temporary care, drop-ins, and options for non-traditional work schedules.
“We understand the struggles our working parents have finding affordable and quality childcare,” said Mark Brazeal, vice president of Administration at MTM. “We want to help relieve that burden, so our valuable team members know their children are well cared for.
“The partnership with TOOTRiS helps us accomplish that goal and aligns with our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workforce while creating career opportunities at our world class automotive manufacturing facility.”
“MTM is taking a progressive approach to helping solve childcare challenges for its employees,” said Alessandra Lezama, TOOTRiS CEO and a select member of the ReadyNation CEO Task Force on Early Childhood. “TOOTRiS is excited to partner with forward-thinking companies like MTM on delivering state-of-the-art Child Care benefits and options to working families who are critical components of our communities and economy.”
As the Council for a Strong America notes, quality child care can strengthen the current and future workforce, contribute to a strong economy and public safety, and enhance national security.
In Huntsville, a fast growing city with several Fortune 500 companies located in the metropolitan area, family-friendly benefits will become more important as the region expands and organizations compete to attract workers.
“As Huntsville grows, the demand for affordable and quality childcare options will also increase,” said Lyndsay Ferguson, vice president of Workforce for the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. “By offering competitive benefits, our region’s top industries, including advanced manufacturing, will continue to attract a highly skilled workforce.”
Job opportunities with MTM can be found at mazdatoyota.com.
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