VOLUME 14 NUMBER 14 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM
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OCTOBER 11 - 24, 2021 ■ $2.25
Treasure hunt
Clemson archaelolgists seek Revolutionary War-era fort. Page 3
Growing rewards
Midlands Technical College held a ribbon cutting for its renovated Welding Technology Center on Sept. 22. (Photo/Melinda Waldrop)
SC Biz News honors high-growth companies. Page 4
BUILDING DEMAND
Eviction worries
Expiring moratorium stresses tenats, landlords. Page 6
New MTC welding center aims to feed workforce pipeline By Melinda Waldrop
BullStreet addition Luxury apartment complex to add 500-plus residents. Page 14
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 In Focus: Architecture, Engineering and Construction .......................................... 13 List: Landscape Architecture Firms.................................. 18 At Work............................... 21 Viewpoint............................23
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mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
ust before the groundbreaking for the Obama Presidential Center on Sept. 28, Michelle Obama stopped by a welding class at the Chicago Women in Trades career training and support center. In an Instagram post, the former first lady reflected on how her father provided for his family through his job as a pump operator, and noted that the welders she visited – some of whom will work on her husband Barack’s center – are pursuing a career that “can help them build a good life for themselves and their families.” According to May 2020 numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 33,150 workers employed as welders, solders, and brazing machine setters, operators and
tenders (which does not include self-employed workers) made a mean annual wage of $41,320, with top-tier positions paying as much as $58,660. What’s more, a shortage of welders is looming: the American Welding Society estimates the U.S. will need 400,000 welders by 2024 as older workers retire. The average age of a welder is 55, the organization said, with fewer than 50% of welders under the age of 35. That’s where Midlands Technical College’s latest capital improvement comes in. A $4.5 million renovation to what is now the college’s new Welding Technology Center continues a $50 million modernization campaign the school embarked on in 2015. The center, now housed in the former Industrial Building on MTC’s Airport campus, features 64 state-of-the-art welding bays and fume extraction capabilities, multi-purpose class-
rooms, a computer lab and external covered work areas, among other upgrades. “We almost doubled our capacity in terms of welding booths, and so we’re going to be able to double the production of students,” MTC President Ronald Rames told The Columbia Regional Business Report after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new welding center on Sept. 22. “What we do know is the welding and welders are in high demand. By increasing this capacity, we’re going to be able to help business and industry meet their needs.” Along with welding fundamentals and qualifications certificates, MTC also offers the first college degree in welding available in South Carolina through its Associate of Applied Science degree in welding technology. See CENTER, Page 17
Infusion of cash
New Wells Fargo program adds to coffers of three S.C. Community Development Financial Institutions. Page 10