The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has donated $20,000 to the Greenville Tech Foundation. The donation will be used at Greenville Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI) for developing curriculum and plans for capstone projects that are part of the Advanced Manufacturing certificate program.
The CMI is a response to the workforce concerns voiced by area manufacturers as the economy began to show signs of improvement around 2010, and advanced manufacturers found they needed people with the right skills to help their companies take advantage of improving conditions. Manufacturing is a powerhouse in Greenville County, ranking first in Gross Regional Product. There are 550 manufacturing facilities in the county, employing 29,000 people. The average salary of manufacturing workers with an associate degree in Greenville County is $63,936. Yet even though the opportunities are strong, young people often dismiss the idea of a manufacturing career, and only a third of their parents say they would encourage the choice. The CMI, opening fall 2016, is needed to bring opportunity and people together.
“Investing in South Carolina’s workforce is one of the ways we are addressing issues fundamentally connected to economic mobility,” Stacy Brandon, Greenville market president for Bank of America. “Greenville Technical College and its Center for Manufacturing Innovation workforce development programs are helping to provide a pathway for employment and build a more sustainable community.”
“Our Center for Manufacturing Innovation is built on partnerships – with Greenville County Schools, Clemson University, local and state government, advanced manufacturers, and the business community,” said Dr. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College. “Partners such as Bank of America are going to help us create a supply of highly skilled new employees and increase the skills of current employees so that the Upstate and its companies can compete globally.”