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The Center for Accelerated Training provides pre-employment training at South Carolina's 16 technical colleges.
By Dennis Quick
In October 2005, the bad news in Laurens County was the announcement that the Timken Co.’s automotive plant, the county’s largest employer, would close in 2007. This meant 1,080 employees would lose their jobs—jobs that paid a reported $15 an hour, compared with the area’s average wage of $11 an hour.
The plant produces wheel, steering and transmission bearings. Its customers include Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. The Timken plant’s misfortune reflects the tough times of the U.S. automobile industry, which over the past several years has seen an erosion of its market share due to foreign competition.
After the announcement, Timken began phasing out its production. About 458 employees are still working at Timken, which is expected to shut down this fall, said Sandra Johnson, work force development administrator for the Upper Savannah Council of Governments.
The good news in all this, or at least a brighter scenario, is that in April 2006, Timken and the Council of Governments opened the Timken Transition Center to help employees who lost or would lose their jobs. Owned by Timken and located across the street from the plant, the center provides programs that help employees find new jobs, enroll in school or upgrade their skills, Johnson said.
The Timken Transition Center represents in microcosm the challenge South Carolina faces with its work force, particularly workers in the state’s manufacturing sector.
“We’re transitioning from an economy that could accommodate low-skill workers,” said Peggy Torrey, director of work force development for the S.C. Department of Commerce. “In the future, only 10 percent to 15 percent of the jobs will be low-skill.”
Future work force skills requirements were key topics during the Southeastern WorkKeys Conference held earlier this year in North Charleston.
WorkKeys is a job-assessment program. A certified WorkKeys profiler visits a company’s work site to determine the skills employees need in order to perform their jobs successfully. Potential new hires or existing employees seeking promotions are tested to see if they have the necessary skills.
Tests include applied math, applied technology, observation skills, reading for information, locating information, listening skills, writing ability and teamwork skills.
The tests are tailored to meet a company’s specific job needs.
The conference’s purpose was to introduce WorkKeys to those unfamiliar with the program, highlight updates to those already familiar with WorkKeys and to show the program’s benefits, said Paul Connerty, director of the Trident One-Stop Career Center in North Charleston, which, along with WorkKeys and the University of North Florida’s Division of Continuing Education, sponsored the conference.
“WorkKeys not only helps people, it promotes economic development, the key to higher employment, higher wages and a better standard of living,” said Terry Kinder, chairman of the Charleston area’s Trident Workforce Investment Board.
Torrey also highlighted the Personal Pathways program, an offshoot of the state’s Education and Economic Development Act. Personal Pathways tackles the work force development challenge at the high school level, requiring students to choose academic courses in at least one of 16 career clusters to begin developing a career path.
Another valued work force initiative is the Center for Accelerated Training, commonly known as CATT, which provides pre-employment training at South Carolina’s 16 technical colleges. Since its inception in 1961, CATT has trained about 210,000 workers for some 2,000 companies representing a variety of industries.
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