|
Union County Economic Development Board
207 South Herndon Street Union, SC 29379
Phone: 864.319.1097 Fax: 864.319.1099
Andrena Powell-Baker Director
Julie Jones Assistant Director |
Education From K-12 to Workforce Training
Quick links
Quality educational systems are essential to the success of any community. Effective educational programs serve society by providing students with the knowledge and skills to prosper in their endeavors, while simultaneously supplying qualified workers to business and industry. In fact, the rank and caliber of an educational system determines the quality of life and the standard of living of the population that it serves.
Union County acknowledges the intrinsic value of education by maintaining a high standard in its educational facilities, while consistently striving for improvement.
K-12The school system of Union County encompasses an enrollment of more than 5,500 students with a total of nine public schools, including six elementary, two middle, and one high school. In 2007, the Union County School District consolidated all three high schools into one high school – improving the overall quality of education for all Union County students.
The school district is enhanced by the active involvement of parents, community, and local businesses, each bringing their unique perspectives and contributions, serving to enrich the educational opportunities for area students and the future for Union County. Union County residents also have access to a private school academy which offers instruction for grades K-12.
The Union School System also offers a vocational center, which collaborates with local businesses and industries to provide technical education tailored to meet ever-changing industrial and commercial objectives.
In addition, the Union County School District recognizes that the importance of learning and mastering new skills never ceases, especially in this era of rapidly advancing technology. Therefore, the district's Adult Education Program promotes a curriculum designed to upgrade skills, provide occupational training, and encourage personal fulfillment. Such intermingling of business, industry, and education serves to spur industrial growth within the County.
Quick Link Union County School District: www.union.k12.sc.us
Higher Education
Since 1965, USC Union has provided low-cost, fully accredited courses that satisfy the degree requirements at USC and other colleges and universities. The campus enrolls between 300 and 400 students each semester. In addition to associate's degrees, USC Union provides special opportunities such as teacher preparation and access to baccalaureate degrees in interdisciplinary studies.
Other schools which are within easy commuting distance of Union include the USC-Upstate; Wofford College; Converse Colleg e; and two-year college Spartanburg Methodist College - all located in nearby Spartanburg.
Limestone College in Gaffney; Presbyterian College in Clinton; Newberry College in Newberry; and Winthrop University in Rock Hill are all within a 45 mile radius of Union.
Schools within a 1.5 hour drive of Union include the main campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia; Clemson University in Clemson, SC; Furman University located in Greenville, SC; and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Quick Links
USC-Union: www.uscunion.edu USC-Upstate: www.uscupstate.edu Wofford College: www.wofford.edu Converse College: www.converse.edu Spartanburg Methodist College: www.smcsc.edu Limestone College: www.limestone.edu Presbyterian College: www.presby.edu Newberry College: www.newberry.edu Winthrop University: www.winthrop.edu University of South Carolina (Main Campus – Columbia): www.sc.edu Furman University: www.furman.edu Clemson University: www.clemson.edu UNC-Charlotte: www.uncc.edu
Technical & Community CollegesThe South Carolina Technical College System operates a statewide system which includes 16 technical colleges, readySC which is for industry-specific training and a State Tech Board staff. The State Tech Board is responsible for the state-level development, implementation and coordination of postsecondary occupational and technical training and education. The purpose of these efforts is to support the economic development of the state.
Most Union County residents attend Spartanburg Community College, 25 miles away, or Greenville Technical College which is located 45 minutes from Union. Both schools offer various workforce and career enhancing programs as well as preparatory classes for four-year degree programs.
Quick Links
readySCThe Nation’s Top Workforce Training Program – Serving Business & Industry In South Carolina For More Than 45 YearsT
In most instances, readySC uses the facilities and instructors at one of the state's 16 technical colleges to plan, develop, and implement a customized workforce training program for new and existing industry. In most cases, Union County companies utilize Spartanburg Community College or Greenville Technical College for job training programs through readySC.
The college system was founded on the premise that the state would be better served by providing a way to train its citizens and employ them in South Carolina with jobs that the state helped to create. When the concept of technical education was being proposed, many of South Carolina's young people were leaving the state to pursue higher paying jobs in other geographic regions. There was a profound need to be more proactive in recruiting business and industry into the state, in training citizens for the jobs that those industries would create and in maintaining a commitment to that training should businesses want to expand and grow within our state.
The readySC program is the result of legislation proposed and passed in 1961 with the help of U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings (then Governor of the Palmetto State) and the West Committee. The program keeps as its main purpose to offer trained employees to a company when the doors are first opened for operation. Since 1961, over 200,000 South Carolinians have been trained for new jobs with more than 1,600 companies taking advantage of the program
The Technical College System is currently involved with over 150 companies designing and/or implementing specific training programs -- 57 percent are new companies and 43 percent are existing companies that are expanding their business. In the last year, more than 8,500 people went through readySc training programs.
Quick Link ReadySC: www.cattsc.com
Clemson University International Center for
CU-ICAR is strategically located in the rapidly growing Southeastern automotive and motorsports region. The 250-acre campus in Greenville, South Carolina is midway between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia, on the Interstate 85 corridor. This is where Clemson University offers the nation’s only Ph.D. in automotive engineering, contributing to the University’s continued climb in national reputation (27th in the 2008 U.S.News & World Report annual ranking of public doctoral-granting institutions).
Quick Link CU-ICAR: www.clemson.edu/autoresearch |
Higher educational opportunities in Union County include access to the local campus of the University of South Carolina-Union located in downtown Union. USC-Union recently completed a renovation of the campus and an expansion of course offerings.
South Carolina operates one of the nation's top workforce training programs. Formerly known as the The Center for Applied Technology Training (CATT), readySC as it is now known more aptly describes the function of the program. 
The readySc program is part of the South Carolina Technical College System designed to provide tailor-made training to new and expanding industries in South Carolina. 
The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) is an advanced-technology research campus where university, industry and government organizations engage in synergistic collaboration. With more than $200 million in commitments, it represents the ultimate public/private partnership, directly fueling a knowledge base critical to the automotive industry.