SC Technical Colleges Help Sustain Our Workforce, and Our Lives

Op-Ed: Dr. Tim Hardy President of SC Technical College System

It's easy to overlook the people who make life work — until they don't show up.

What if there was no one to fix your air conditioning system when it quits during the dog days of a South Carolina summer?

No paramedics to respond when your child has an asthma attack? No linemen to get your power back on after a storm? No nurses to care for your parents in the hospital? No technicians to keep your factory running or your car safely on the road?

It's not a doomsday scenario. It's a real question: Where would South Carolina be without its technical colleges?

September is Workforce Development Month. But instead of talking about programs, pipelines or percentages of jobs filled, we're reminding folks what's at stake if those jobs go unfilled.

Every day, in every community, graduates of our 16 technical colleges are showing up, in scrubs, in steel-toe boots, in uniforms. They're not just filling jobs. They're making everyday life possible.

They're the welders reinforcing the steel joints on the bridge you drive over every day.
The radiation technicians taking your X-ray after that unfortunate slip on the porch steps.

The social service workers helping a young mom access child care.

The pharmacy technicians letting you know whether you need food with your prescription.

The veterinary technicians keeping your anxious dog calm during a checkup.

The physical therapist assistants coaching you through those first painful steps after knee surgery.

And they didn't learn those skills by accident. They trained with us.

Tags: Community College Newsletter

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