Rhames: Bond bill will help Midlands Tech keep helping SC

A great education is a promise for the future. In South Carolina today, this promise is more important than ever. The right education and the right training and skills are what prepare our citizens for success, ensure that our businesses are able to thrive and grow our economy.

Midlands Technical College also makes a promise to our students. We tell them, “you can get anywhere from here,” and we mean it. Our alumni demonstrate this fact for us. We have a 40-year track record of partnering with businesses to make sure that our students have the real-world, relevant skills that they need to thrive in the workforce today and be prepared for the workforce of tomorrow. We also prepare students each year for successful transfer to the state’s senior colleges and universities. When the class of 2015 graduates Wednesday, our students will walk across the stage with the knowledge that they are ready to achieve their personal and professional goals and to contribute to their communities.

The work that we do is critical to the state’s success.

Our business and industry partners tell us that our work is critical. They constantly come ask us to provide the customized education and training that they need to build their workforce.

Our higher education partners tell us that the students who begin their educational careers at Midlands Technical College arrive prepared to continue to learn. They not only perform at the level of their peers who started at four-year institutions, but they also demonstrate the highest levels of persistence.

When I became the college’s president, I made helping the college continue to meet the needs of our students and our business partners my top priority. All the data tell us that much work remains to be done to help South Carolina produce the kind of talent that can fill the high-paying, in-demand jobs that our state needs to thrive. Passing the bond bill under consideration by the S.C. Senate will help us continue this work.

The technical education and training that we provide is more important than ever. Continued success will require even more resources to help ensure that our students are always learning using relevant and cutting-edge technology. Investment by the state of South Carolina in our technical colleges, including our students, faculty and infrastructure, is essential if we are to continue to attract businesses and industries with high-quality, high-paying jobs.

President, Midlands Technical College

Columbia

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Rhames: Bond bill will help Midlands Tech keep helping SC."