06
Mar 2015
A $24,200 gift by the Bosch Community Fund will allow individuals who are unemployed or underemployed to complete short-term, intense training for manufacturing positions through the Quick Jobs with a Future program at Greenville Technical College. Those seeking Quick Jobs education for positions as CNC operators, welders, forklift operators, and mechatronics technicians will be eligible to apply for this tuition assistance. Bosch Rexroth and many other advanced manufacturers in the Upstate and beyond have expressed a critical need for individuals with the skills to qualify for available positions in advanced manufacturing. ?High skilled technicians are fundamental to our business,? said Mike McCormick, Plant Manager for Bosch Rexroth in Fountain Inn. ?This scholarship fund is part of the skills gap solution, giving more people the opportunity to gain the skills they need to qualify for excellent positions in advanced manufacturing and allowing manufacturing to continue to lead our economy forward.? Bosch Rexroth has been a strong supporter of Greenville Technical College?s efforts to create a Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI) in partnership with Clemson University, where the number one goal will be increasing the number of skilled workers for manufacturing in order to close the skills gap. Manufacturing in Greenville County is an economic powerhouse, first in Gross Regional Product and total earnings for all industries. It is responsible for nearly all annual capital investment in the area and has the highest multiplier effect of any sector. Yet employers have struggled to find people with adequate skills to fill job openings. The manufacturing workforce is aging, and there are too few younger workers in the pipeline to replace them. The CMI will offer education designed to meet industry needs including dual credit programs in partnership with Greenville County Schools, programs that allow a student to move from associate degree to bachelor?s degree, and workforce training and certificate programs that increase the qualifications of manufacturing employees. Quick Jobs training for advanced manufacturing will move to the Center for Manufacturing Innovation when it opens in 2016. ?The skills gap issue can only be impacted when industry and education commit to come together in an innovative solution,? said Dr. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College. ?Our partnership with Bosch Rexroth is aimed at giving people the skills they need to go to work in advanced manufacturing quickly. Through this scholarship fund, the company is creating the skilled workforce that employers need now.?