Media Center
May 21, 2010
CCTC QuickJobs Center and KCEDO Grand Opening
Public, private support produces CCTC QuickJobs center for work training
By TREVOR BARATKO
C-I (Camden, S.C.) staff reporter
The sod was soggy but the sun was shining as Gov. Mark Sanford spoke soundly of the significance of the new Central Carolina Technical College (CCTC) site Tuesday. The official opening of the QuickJobs center took place one day after classes commenced. In addition to the college, the new Kershaw County Economic Development Office is located at the facility.
In attendance with Sanford were representatives from the city of Camden, Kershaw County, CCTC and the Kershaw County Board of School Trustees.
“This is a remarkably important and significant act of teamwork, both from the private sector and public sector,” said Sanford. “This is all about preparation for the influx of folks that are here, that are coming here, the existing folks that are here and being able to compete in the larger marketplace … it’s about rural economic development. I, as you all know, am not a particular fan of federal monies, but once they’re here … the question is how do you best use those dollars? And I think they’re being very well used in this instance.”
Quoting New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman -- whom, he said, he quotes “all too often” -- Sanford said the state is in competition “the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
“It used to be that if you were born in Burma, you were out of luck. You might love your wife, you might love your kids, but from an economic standpoint, unless you got a ticket out of that place, there was no way to ever capitalize … no matter how smart you might be,” Sanford said. “Nowadays, for the first time in recorded history, some kid in the opposite side of the world is not only competing with a kid in this side of the world, but in this case able to plug in to the Internet and globalization in ways that they never have before, which really amps up the competition.”
Kershaw County Council Chairman Steve Kelly Jr. was unable to attend, as was Kershaw County Economic Development Director Nelson Lindsay, who played a key role in the creation of the QuickJobs site.
CCTC President Dr. Tim Hardee thanked Kershaw County Council and the Kershaw County School District for their support. He also mentioned KershawHealth, saying he hopes it decides to hire CCTC-trained nurses.
Hardee said he plans to have 1,000 students at the Camden campus during the next 10 years.
“It truly is about job creation. I would once again thank the S.C. Department of Commerce for making the funding available for projects such as this,” said Hardee.
CCTC’s local region consists of Kershaw, Lee, Sumter and Clarendon counties. As noted by Kershaw County Councilman Sammie Tucker Jr., who acted as master of ceremonies for the occasion, the QuickJobs center is phase one of what CCTC and the county hope to be a two-phase project.
“The concept of Quick Jobs Development Center is especially appropriate today, as many of our citizens are searching for jobs,” said Tucker.
Funding for the site came from several avenues. A state grant contributed $1 million, as did CCTC. The county put forward $800,000, while a federal grant and utility grant put together the remaining $400,000. Kershaw County purchased the land in 2007 for $500,000.
Officials concluded the event with a tour of the 15,000-square-foot facility, located on Wall Street off U.S. 521 in Camden, that features a welding lab, science labs and classrooms, in addition to the county economic development office.
(Contact Trevor Baratko at 432-6157 or county@ci-camden.com.)
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