Greenwood Edge to prepare workforce for manufacturing jobs in region
Greenwood County’s efforts at developing a skilled workforce for major industry in the region took a significant step forward on Thursday, when officials unveiled plans for a dual-enrollment program that will enable students to earn a manufacturing production technician certificate while still in high school.
“Part of our industrial retention efforts are listening to our companies, and what they need, and what they say all the time is supporting the workforce challenges that they have,” James Bateman, business development director for the Greenwood Partnership Alliance, told guidance counselors from Greenwood County school districts 50, 51 and 52 during an informational meeting where the program — known as Greenwood Edge — was introduced at the G. Frank Russell Technology Center.
Students are required to have a recommendation from their school counselor to be eligible for the program.
The partnership of Greenwood County school districts and Piedmont Technical College is a sister program to the Greenwood Promise, which is providing seed money to cover tuition costs for the initial 24-student cohort.
That money, Greenwood Promise Executive Director Kris Burris said, comes from an outside grant and is not drawing from the near $5 million endowment set aside to cover gap financial aid for county students to attend Piedmont Technical College’s regular course offerings.
In subsequent years, officials say Greenwood Edge will be self-financed through private sector donations, grants and other means. If it’s successful, the model might even be expanded to address needs in other clusters.
“While we’re starting it in a manufacturing field, it can be duplicated in other fields such as nursing,” Bateman said. Manufacturing jobs comprise 26 percent of Greenwood County’s workforce.
February is also Career and Technical Education Month, which served as a backdrop for Thursday’s announcement.
The Greenwood Edge initiative launches in the fall and was rolled out Thursday to district guidance counselors by Piedmont Tech Associate Vice President Rusty Denning, Regina Washington, the college’s dual enrollment coordinator and Bateman.
High school students enrolled in Edge will get 12 credit hours by taking the following courses: Statistical Process Control, Basic Industrial Skills I, Introduction to Industrial Maintenance, Precision Measurements and Manufacturing Engineering Principles.
Piedmont Tech’s Manufacturing Technician Certificate has a $2,070 value.
Edge was born out of a five-year strategic plan developed by the Partnership Alliance in 2017 that included the creation of a human resources project. After meeting with focus groups that included representation from major manufacturers in the region and trips to other communities with similar initiatives in place, officials crafted a local version.
Denning said students who make it through Edge and obtain their certification will be guaranteed an interview for entry level jobs with participating companies: Ascend Performance Materials, Capsugel, Fujifilm, Greenwood Mills Inc. and Monti Inc.
Bateman said the allocation of slots for the initial 24 students was developed by dividing a high school’s population by the district’s entire student body. In that breakdown, the vacancies are: Eight openings from Greenwood High School, six from Emerald High School, four from Ninety Six High School, and three each for Ware Shoals and students who either are home-schooled or attend a private school in the district.
Creating a pipeline of factory-ready employees has been a key priority of county leaders and economic development officials. The top project to be paid for through the county’s eight-year, $85 million capital projects sales tax collection is the Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence on the campus of Piedmont Tech.
Construction on the $6.1 million facility is set to begin later this year. The 45,000-square-foot complex, will house machine tool technology, mechatronics and welding classes while offering flex space for employer-specific training.
In November 2016, Teijin, a Japanese company that specializes in carbon fiber production, announced plans to build a $600 million factory off Highway 246, creating 220 jobs. Greenwood County was able to lure Teijin partly through the promise of directly supporting the manufacturing sector through Piedmont Tech’s center.
Bonnie Corbitt, director of the G. Frank Russell Technology Center, said educators wanted to include attendance as an eligibility guideline so students learn the importance of meeting daily responsibilities.
“This is where attendance counts. Kids think they can be out eight days in a semester, and they can. They’re going to be fired,” she said.
Partners in Greenwood Edge include the state Department of Commerce, Upper Savannah Council of Governments, Lander University, Greenwood Partnership Alliance and the Western Piedmont Education Consortium.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Feb 8, 2018
By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com