More turning to Greenville Tech for training needed for new careers
April 6, 2008
Despite Greenville County's persistent unemployment rate in the 4.5 percent to 5 percent range -- and the state's jobless rate in February of 5.5 percent -- Greenville Technical College officials see plenty of jobs in the marketplace requiring high-level skills.
"There is no problem with good jobs," said Greenville Tech president Thomas Barton. "The problem is that people don't have the skills for the jobs."
Dean Jones, administrator of Greenville County's Workforce Development office, agrees.
"There are jobs," he said. "We talk to employers who see a lack of the necessary skills. As technology grows and changes, it's a constant learning process. There's always going to be a gap in the skills level."
A set of numbers illustrates the problem. In 1955, 20 percent of positions available were professional, 60 percent were unskilled, and 20 percent were skilled.
Fifty years later, in 2005, the percentages had changed -- professional, 20 percent; unskilled, 12 percent; and skilled, 68 percent, said Becky Godbey, manager of workforce development at the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
"Finding all levels of employees is definitely challenging," said Steve Shafer, director of human resources for Fluor Corp.'s Greenville operations, adding that it's a major focus of the company.
Any employee with specialty skills -- either professional or technical -- can be hard to find, he said. That includes not only engineers but workers in heavy industrial careers, such as construction, electricians, pipe fitters, boilermakers and welders.
These jobs can be "very rewarding and challenging," he said. "You can make a lot money. The money potential has definitely increased over the past several years" as demand for these jobs has soared.
Brad Nelson, manager of human resources at Drive Automotive, said that "there are good jobs available. There are some folks here who are trained."
In addition, the automotive supply company works with Greenville Tech through an apprenticeship program for tool and die operators and conducts in-house training. Over the years, Drive Automotive has hired former textile workers and trained them in new skills. These workers often have a strong work ethic and are great employees, he said.
But "we also recruit from the outside," Nelson said, especially for workers with specialized skills that can be found more easily among employees or former employees of the domestic auto industry.
For example, it's easier to find the skills for the programming of robotics used in the auto industry outside this area.
But he said Greenville Tech is a good resource for training Drive Automotive's workers. The company uses the WorkKeys program, which documents various employee skills. Also, Greenville Tech can help by exposing students to the soft skills they will need to be successful. That includes coming to work every day, arriving on time and dressing appropriately.
Employers "definitely think about the work force today," said Hank Hyatt, the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce's vice president for economic development. "Work force is one of the key drivers of economic development."
Ensuring a work force with the required skills "has to be high on our priority list," he said, adding that Greenville County and the Upstate don't want to see the gap between available skills and needed skills to widen. On-the-job training and community college training are ways residents can avail themselves of needed skills.
Among the Upstate's greatest weaknesses, according to the recently released Economic Scorecard, are education achievement and the percentage of knowledge workers among the work force.
Still, the Upstate's work force, with its strong work ethic and readiness to retrain, is one of the advantages for the area, Hyatt said.
Another work force challenge exists, said Barton.
Employment problems facing the Upstate and the state won't go away until South Carolina's high-school dropout rate is conquered. About 25 percent of Greenville County's adult population does not have a high school diploma or its equivalent, said Ben Dillard, the college's executive vice president.
"The biggest need in Greenville County in education is to get the people who have dropped out to get a GED," Barton said.
"We have a good partnership with the Greenville school system," Dillard said. "It's becoming an issue to the community -- people who need more skills. We're both trying to reach as many people as possible."
As the need for skilled workers became more obvious to residents as well as businesses, Greenville Tech's growth escalated.
The school's mission since its inception in 1962, Dillard said, is supporting economic development in the community.
"It all revolves around jobs," he said.
"I think Greenville Tech is very important to economic development," Jones said. "The school is growing by leaps and bounds. Quality is not always measured by growth, but it can lead to growth."
Shafer said his company moves employees around as projects are completed, but "we take advantage of local talent pools." That is aided by Fluor's relationship with Greenville Tech. The company partnered with the college to provide the Fluor Welding Program at Greenville Tech for newcomers to the industry and to those who want to upgrade their skills.
As Greenville Tech continually modernizes its offerings and technology, "they're taking the training to the community" with four campuses throughout the county and off-site training, Jones said.
Actually, Greenville Tech offers nine programs that no other technical college in the state has. Also, Greenville Tech's 48 degree and diploma programs, including the nine, are the most offered at any state tech college.
All told, Greenville Tech has more than 130 programs -- degree, diploma and certificate -- available for students, Dillard said.
Those programs all draw residents from throughout the state -- and even from out of state -- to Greenville.
Greenville Tech hired three additional employees last spring to "knock on doors every day," discussing opportunities Greenville Tech provides for on-site company training, Barton said. That includes both short-term classes as well as full curricula classes.
"They're selling," he said.
Barton said that to prepare residents for the jobs available, Greenville Tech is in a growth spurt. Fall enrollment was a record 15,054 in the curriculum program, up from 14,322 in 2006. Spring enrollment this year is 12,189, down slightly from 12,456 last year.
If growth continues at the same rate, Barton said he expects enrollment to surpass 20,000 students by the 2011-2012 term on Greenville Tech's four campuses -- Barton, Greer, Brashier and Northwest. Currently, Greenville Tech is the third largest college in South Carolina, following the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.
When including all curriculum and continuing education, charter school, business training, off-site and online students, "we serve approximately 40,000 different individuals a year," Dillard said. "We touch about 10 percent of our population."
What makes Greenville Tech such a good partner, Shafer said, is not only its focus on the community but its relationships with business.
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