Happy Manufacturing Day! Across the nation, cities and companies will be celebrating the manufacturing workforce + teaching students about future career opportunities and the changing landscape of the advanced manufacturing industry.

Here in the Upstate, we have a lot to celebrate. So much so, that Greenville Tech’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation is teaming up with the Greenville Chamber, Greenville County Schools as well as leading manufacturing companies in the Upstate (see them all here) to host over 400 high school students for a huge day of manufacturing insights (we’re talking 3D printing, robotics + touring innovative Upstate manufacturing facilities).

105,967: The number of Upstate manufacturing jobs (that’s 102% above the national average) which is 7% of the entire Upstate population (based on 2016 Greenville Economic Development reports).

$13.3 billion: The amount the manufacturing industry accounts for in our GRP (Gross Regional Product). It’s like GDP but for our region.

70/30: The ratio of Male to Female workers in manufacturing positions

76.2: The percentage of workers in manufacturing positions over the age of 35

The manufacturing workforce challenge:
With a quick look at the numbers, an aging workforce, lack of diversity, + a shortage of skilled labor are some of the challenges our manufacturing industry is currently facing. But, the Upstate is working to solve these challenges through a ton of different programs. Here are just a few of them.

BMW Scholars Program: in partnership with Greenville Tech, Tri-County Tech, and Spartanburg Community College, the Scholars Program helps students with specialized training, part-time positions, and tuition assistance. As of late last year, they had graduated 108 students and 107 of them became full-time employees at BMW.
Michelin Technical Scholars Program
Apprenticeship Carolina: Working in partnership with the SC Technical College System, offering over 900 programs, services 26,864 apprentices, with 14,475 currently active, it’s no wonder this program earned a spot in NPR back in 2014.
ReadySC: to sum up their mission statement, this group aims to develop the economic and workforce development in SC while providing training for new and existing businesses.

We are so thankful for all of the organizations throughout the state working to promote, hire, and grow the Upstate’s future manufacturing workforce. Some other organizations worth checking out include:

iMagine Upstate: Whose goal is to provide meaningful experiences that promote a culture of lifelong learning and career readiness in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (they host a festival at Fluor Field every April).
SCMEP (SC Manufacturing Extension Project)
Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing Technology (Florence, SC)

– Logan