
Simon Fraser, Heritage Classic Foundation Chairman of the Board; Charlie Rountree,
Heritage Classic Foundation Trustee: Kevin Kisner, PGA TOUR Professional Doug Riley,
Siemens Industry, Inc. Regional Account Manager; Dr. Rich Gough, Technical College
of the Lowcountry President; Doug Smith, Heritage Classic Foundation Trustee; Dr.
Tim Hardee, South Carolina Technical College System President; Henry Giles, Spartanburg
Community College President; Dr. Walter Tobin, Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
President; Steve Wilmot, Heritage Classic Foundation President; and Will McGirt, PGA
TOUR Professional, Congressman William Clyburn, Sixth Congressional District; Congressman
William Timmons Elect, Fourth Congressional District Congressman Mark Sanford, First
Congressional District Members of the Congressional Cup and Heritage Classic Foundation
Trustees
Article by: Kelly C. Steinhilper | SC Technical College System
The Heritage Classic Foundation is partnering with the SC Technical College System
to invest $100,000 in a grant to expand training opportunities for skilled mechatronic
workers across the state. The grant will be used to support Siemens Mechatronic System
Certification Programs for faculty at South Carolina s 16 technical colleges. This
certification will allow for training and preparing much-needed, skilled maintenance
technicians for South Carolina s growing manufacturing sector.
As manufacturing equipment becomes more automated and technologically advanced, demand
increases for highly-trained and highly-skilled mechatronic technicians. Mechatronics
is a multidisciplinary field of engineering that includes a combination of mechanical
engineering technology, robotics, electronics, computer engineering, telecommunications
engineering, systems engineering and control engineering. Skilled mechatronic technicians
are in constant demand.
This partnership will focus on expanding the training and certification of these much-needed
technicians across the state. The grant will fund the second level of faculty training
in Siemens globally-recognized certification program. The Siemens training provides
comprehensive skills certification with a focus on system understanding, troubleshooting
and problem-solving skills. It is renowned for producing well-grounded, trained individuals
who can easily adapt to changing work situations quickly and appropriately.
The Siemens certification is a standard used by many of South Carolina s well-known
manufacturing companies including BMW, Boeing, Michelin and Bosch, among others.
The SC Technical College System continuously collaborates with industry to best meet
essential workforce needs. This partnership with the Heritage Classic Foundation and
Siemens provides an excellent example of how our System strives to align our degrees
and curriculum with community and industry needs, said Dr. Tim Hardee, SC Technical
College System president. We look forward to working closely with our partners to
train and prepare much-needed mechatronic technicians. Expansion of our offerings
will help provide skilled workers who are so important to maintaining and supporting
the technologically advanced equipment at manufacturing facilities across the state.
The Heritage Classic Foundation is the general tournament sponsor of South Carolina
s only PGA TOUR event, the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing. The mission of the Heritage
Classic Foundation is to improve lives throughout the state of South Carolina. One
of the ways that mission is fulfilled is through educational grants and scholarships.
Funding the South Carolina Technical College mechatronic training program is two-fold
for us, said Heritage Classic Foundation Trustee Doug Smith. It helps further educate
Palmetto State students by providing the necessary skills they require for meaningful
work. It also creates a skilled workforce that is vital to the success of many of
our corporate partners across the state.
Pictured left to right: Simon Fraser, Heritage Classic Foundation Chairman of the
Board; Charlie Rountree, Heritage Classic Foundation Trustee: Kevin Kisner, PGA TOUR
Professional Doug Riley, Siemens Industry, Inc. Regional Account Manager; Dr. Rich
Gough, Technical College of the Lowcountry President; Doug Smith, Heritage Classic
Foundation Trustee; Dr. Tim Hardee, South Carolina Technical College System President;
Henry Giles, Spartanburg Community College President; Dr. Walter Tobin, Orangeburg-Calhoun
Technical College President; Steve Wilmot, Heritage Classic Foundation President;
and Will McGirt, PGA TOUR Professional
Group shot including everyone listed above and Congressman William Clyburn, Sixth
Congressional District; Congressman William Timmons Elect, Fourth Congressional District
Congressman Mark Sanford, First Congressional District Members of the Congressional
Cup and Heritage Classic Foundation Trustees
About the SC Technical College System: Comprised of 16 colleges located strategically
across the state and two internationally-renowned statewide programs: readySC and
Apprenticeship Carolina , the SC Technical College System is dedicated to furthering
economic and workforce development in South Carolina. As the state s largest higher
education system, the SC Technical System serves more than a quarter million South
Carolinians each year and educates more of our state s undergraduates than all the
other public higher education institutions combined. Dedicated to making a quality
higher education both accessible and affordable, the System plays a key role in educating
and training South Carolina s workforce for the in-demand, high-skilled jobs of today
and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.sctechsystem.edu or follow us on Twitter
(@sctechsystem).
About the Heritage Classic Foundation: The Heritage Classic Foundation is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to improving lives throughout the state of South Carolina.
As the general sponsor of the PGA TOUR s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, millions
of dollars generated from ticket sales and sponsorships are distributed to charitable
organizations that enhance the quality of life for our citizens. Since it was founded
as a 501 (c)(3) in 1987, the Foundation has donated close to $40 million to people
in need. For more information, call (843) 671-2448, visit www.heritageclassicfoundation.com
or Facebook (Heritage Classic Foundation) and Twitter (@HCFGolf).