Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it will set up a foundation with its nine group companies soon, possibly in late December, with an eye to increasing the number of female engineers in the manufacturing industry.

The program will take aim at high school students who wish to go to university and female college students who major in engineering, the automaker said.

The foundation will dispatch female engineers to offer courses at high schools. It will also provide financial assistance to undergraduate and graduate students if they so desire, it said.