By Betsy Finklea
Three technical college presidents shared their focus and priorities at the Coastal and Pee Dee Economic Development Summit hosted by Congressman Tom Rice at Florence-Darlington Technical College’s SIMT building on Wednesday.
Edward Bethea of Latta, acting president at Florence-Darlington Technical College, was the first to present. He said as unemployment comes down so does enrollment. “We’re not just about education and enrollment,” said Bethea. “We are a vital and major player in economic development.”
The SIMT building, where the meeting was held, is home to advance manufacturing and is an incubator. They are currently incubating 22 companies in Florence, Marion, and Darlington. They have driven $20 million in revenue into the economy, and they have one of the most successful incubators in South Carolina.
The SIMT is not only creating workforce-ready employees for the three counties they are serving, they are turning a profit by offering various services to businesses.
FDTC is one in five colleges to receive an advanced youth apprenticeship grant. They have other programs that offer access to education and are removing undergraduate student hurdles through the RUSH program.
They also offer dual credit to high school students and are putting in distance learning equipment in nine rural high schools, which will improve access.
Bethea said they are evaluating all of their programs to make sure they are relevant and are working to bring new things such as cybersecurity, robots, and mechatronics.
Harold Hawley of Horry-Georgetown Technical College was the next to speak. “Workforce and economic development is our obsession,” said Hawley.
Hawley said it is truly an excellent time in South Carolina and at HGTC, and he said their commitment has never been stronger. They currently have an enrollment of 6,500 students. They have 65 programs of study and a number of online programs. Their job placement rate is more than 95 percent.
The college has made substantial investments to grow existing business and attracting new business. They have a new state-of-the-art building dedicated to advanced manufacturing. They have focused on healthcare and on culinary arts and have culinary arts students getting jobs across the nation. They have new programs in diesel mechanics, plumbing, electricity, and court reporting. They won a grant which will help them provide cybersecurity, data protection, and IT Management.
They have a train-to-work program designated to put resources to those who might think they cannot attend.
Dr. Kyle Wagner was the third to present. He said his coverage area is Chesterfield, Marlboro, and Dillon Counties. He said some of the things produced in these counties affect your lives every day such as water, water filters, etc, and in Dillon County specifically, filters produced at Mann-Hummel Perdue chicken, which supplies chicken to Chick-Fil-A. It is NETC’s job to help produce successful employees for these industries.
Wagner said transportation is a huge issue for this rural area.
NETC is client-driven. He explained their student success model.
He also spoke about their dual enrollment program which he said was a tremendous success.
They use a stackable credentials model that focuses on student-centered success. They opened a daycare at their main campus.
They also use stackable funding which includes Pell Grant, S.C. Promise, lottery, and Local Funding. They have assigned millage from the counties to help reduce cost.
He said it’s the decision of the person to decide to be educated, but it is NETC’s job to help accomplish that goal.
