Workshop for Upstate STEM educators details workforce development funding

Published: March 13, 2013

Bryan Dods, executive manufacturing technology leader for GE Energy in Greenville, said advanced manufacturing is about the entire supply chain. It’s a “family of activities,” he said. image by: Peter Hull
Clemson University

GREENVILLE — Upstate educators with a focus on STEM education gathered Wednesday for a workshop hosted by the Clemson University Center for Workforce Development to learn how area schools and colleges can apply for monetary awards to further their programs.

As part of its commitment to bolster South Carolina’s manufacturing base, the Duke Energy Foundation has funded workforce development initiatives in the state with a $4.11 million grant to help provide a next-generation workforce in key cluster areas. 

Educators who attended the Upstate workshop share a common purpose: To spur job growth by helping develop a labor force with specific skills in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and specifically in advanced manufacturing to support South Carolina’s burgeoning manufacturing industry.

Kris Frady, assistant director of the Center for Workforce Development, told the workshop that if South Carolina continues on its current trajectory, the gulf between available jobs and a home-grown educated workforce will increase.

“Education, particularly in STEM fields, is the key to workforce and economic development,” Frady said. “If we continue the way we’re going, our advanced manufacturers will look elsewhere to fill the gaps.

“Teachers have a platform to inspire their students to become interested in STEM and follow a career in technology,” she said.

Duke Energy tasked Clemson’s Workforce Development Center to manage educational, research and outreach activities in support of workforce development and STEM education.

The center oversees distribution of these funds to partner institutions that include universities, technical colleges, K-12 institutions and STEM-oriented organizations through competitive grants, scholarships and internships.

Click here to learn how to submit proposals and qualify for awards. A similar workshop will be help Thursday in Florence.

Ryan Childers, who runs BMW’s Scholars Program, said today’s advanced manufacturing is not that of 20 or 30 years ago. The modern industry is clean and highly technical.

It also offers many career opportunities. At BMW, they include supervision and management, quality engineering, logistics, procurement, vehicle product engineering and manufacturing process engineering. These jobs require a STEM background, Childers said.

“The statistics are startling,” Childers said. “We have a definite need to educate students and their parents as to what modern advanced manufacturing is. We need to change the perception.” 

Duke Energy’s funding will help create virtual resources designed to support industrial development, sponsor competitive grant opportunities for K-12 and technical college classrooms, support scholarships and internships across multiple South Carolina institutions of higher education, and finance conferences to create greater awareness of workforce development issues.

The program, underpinned by solid partnerships, is vital for workforce development in South Carolina if the state is going to meet the needs of industry, said Rebecca Hartley, program coordinator of the Center for Workforce Development. 

“Our goal is to develop more qualified employees to work in industries that drive the nation’s economy,” Hartley said. “By fostering these partnerships, we can develop the workforce of the future.”

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