Aiken Technical College will open its new Center for Energy and Advanced Manufacturing on the first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 17.
ATC President Dr. Susan Winsor shared the news at the monthly Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce First Friday Means Business breakfast on Friday.
The facility will serve as a training center for Aiken County's nuclear and manufacturing workforce. It will house ATC's advanced manufacturing, welding, radiation protection, technology and nuclear quality programs.
"Our future is bright with the number of manufacturers in our region," Winsor said. "It's really an opportunity to leverage this facility to bring additional economic development to the region."
Initial discussion on the center began about eight years ago, when the recession was emerging; yet the college and community leaders quickly recognized the facility should be a top priority for the long term.
Winsor cited support from many sources - a federal grant, a S.C. General Assembly allocation, and just completed this year, another $2 million raised by the members of the Aiken Technical College Foundation.
The Center for Energy and Advanced Manufacturing offers large bays to provide hands-on training with new equipment and enhanced instruction. Ultimately, however, the focus is not on buildings, but on the students and the companies that will benefit from them, Winsor said.
"We have a huge number of jobs becoming available because of retirements alone," she said. "We want our young people for those jobs. We don't want to have to import people from halfway across the country, just because our people are not ready to take those positions."
The new facility expands on initiatives that emerged several years ago, Winsor said.
Bridgestone became a pioneering partner with ATC to establish a Technical Scholars program. A company can select and identify talented students - providing a part-time job, paying for tuition and books beyond federal aid and preparing them for full-time jobs.
Companies need high-tech skills, and ATC's new education center will complement on-the-job training by preparing students for manufacturing and technical jobs, Winsor said.
"We're so happy and proud of our partnerships and the community support it took to get here and make this project a reality," Winsor said.
Senior writer Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter and has been with the newspaper since September 2001.