Under a pioneering new program, any adult in Lancaster County can get free training in four vocational trades through the school district, and three more specialties will be offered soon.
The first class of 22 adults, ranging in age from 17 to 66, are already in the program, and signups for the next classes are under way.
Andre Clyburn, 64, is retired from the military and has experience as a machinist, but he’s attending classes to learn the newest computerized metal-cutting techniques.
“I don’t know it all. This line of work changes every day,” said Clyburn. His hair is peppered with gray, but his spirit is young and his smile is big.
“A new process, a new step, a new formula is added every day,” he said. “If I want to stay in this field, I have to stay abreast with the changes.”
The Lancaster High School Career Center comes alive in the late afternoons with hissing spray guns and the sizzle of welding. The scents of paint and burning metal fill the air. Electricians measure voltage with digital meters.
Classes in culinary arts, certified nursing and carpentry will be added after the first of the year.
Dr. Kim Linton, Lancaster County adult education director, created a partnership between adult ed and the career center to expand opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed.
In addition to getting their GEDs, adult ed students can now receive hands-on career training. It’s the first such program in South Carolina, Linton said.
The program is funded by a $25,000 Duke Energy grant and the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which helps provide education, training and support to job seekers, giving them needed skills to compete in today’s market.
“This is all about workforce development,” said Rick Jiran, Duke Energy vice president of community relations.
“For Duke Energy, this is a great partnership as organizations such as this work hard to get folks trained and ready to go to work or go back to work,” he said.
The classes are free for everyone who needs or wants to learn a skill, regardless of income. Courses are offered in auto body repair, welding, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, and electricity.
Among the 22 students in the program now, two are women learning welding and electrical work.
She said she will use her skills to help with church projects, too.
Linton, whose background is in career technology, said this has been a long-term goal of hers.
“These adults have a desire to work and they want to improve their lives,” Linton said. “I want to offer a path for them to become self-sufficient.”
Linton drew inspiration for the program from frustrated adult ed graduates facing limited options. A lack of reliable transportation prevents many from furthering their education at York Tech.
Linton said the program is open to any Lancaster County adult. Her hope is this will boost the local workforce and attract more companies to the area.
The next round of classes begin Nov. 28 and are taught on Monday and Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. at the Lancaster High School career center. Each course lasts eight to 10 weeks.
Students must register and attend an orientation before being enrolled. Interested adults can register from 9 a.m.-noon and 12:30-2:30 p.m. weekdays at the adult ed office, 610 E. Barr St.
Orientation begins Monday, Oct. 31, with day and evening options. The day orientation is from 9 a.m.-noon Monday through Thursday. The nighttime orientation is 5-8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
The first two weeks focus on job readiness, shop safety and soft skills – those hard-to-measure intangibles of reliability, responsibility and commitment.
The WIOA funds pay for the instructors and for the students’ welding certification tests after course completion.
“I want to feel comfortable with what I am doing, whether it is auto body work or welding,” Carpenter said. “I want to learn all I can.”
10/30/16
Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152
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