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If you blinked while lawmakers returned to Columbia last month to finalize the state budget, you might have missed it. But one particular provision passed as part of the 2018-19 budget is a VERY BIG DEAL for high school graduates from the following public school districts served by �鶹��Ƶ (�鶹��Ƶ) ― Abbeville, Laurens 55, Laurens 56, McCormick and Saluda. Individuals who graduated or received their GED in these counties from 2013 through 2018 and wish to pursue a certificate, diploma, or associate degree may be eligible for up to $2,000 in scholarship funding annually through the SC Promise Scholarship program.

The clicking of keys ranks among the country’s more common workday sounds and for good reason. Keyboards control sophisticated systems. Acquiring the knowledge and skills a computer-based work environment demands has never been more critical. To better provide skills essential to workplace success, �鶹��Ƶ is adding three new certificate programs. The administrative office technology department is adding the Customer Service and Support certificate and the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certificate. In addition, the college’s business program is adding the Human Resource Management certificate.

Members of the Piedmont Tech family were saddened to learn of the July 9 passing of Allen Barbare, who taught in the Human Services program at �鶹��Ƶ for more than 12 years.

�鶹��Ƶ honors students who had outstanding academic accomplishments during the 2018 Spring Semester. Below are students who recently were named to the President's List, the Dean's List, and the Merit List. Kudos to all of these hardworking students!

�鶹��Ƶ is offering its second Test Drive opportunity on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. beginning July 17 through July 26, with a Saturday session at 10 a.m. on July 28, all at the Lex Walters Campus-Greenwood.

The Piedmont Tech's pastoral Saluda County campus, where the college’s agricultural programs are based, stuns many people who may not see beyond the classroom building visible from the Batesburg Highway.

How fast does a forklift go? How many compressions per minute should you do when administering CPR? Get the answers to those questions and earn quick certification just by sampling courses at �鶹��Ƶ (�鶹��Ƶ). Interested individuals can try out selected classes at no cost as part of “Test Drive �鶹��Ƶ.” The free program ― a $400 value ― offers an opportunity to sample curricula associated with one of two educational concentrations ― industrial and engineering or health science and nursing.

Piedmont Tech Campus Security Officer Dan Fancote can knead pastry dough as handily as he can do CPR chest compressions. A 14-year veteran of �鶹��Ƶ’s security force, Fancote once attended culinary school, where he specialized in pastries. He loves his job and absolutely feels it’s a really good day when the culinary treats he occasionally brings to work disappear quickly ― and no one on campus needs first aid.

A quiet, word-of-mouth recommendation of �鶹��Ƶ’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) in Laurens has brought 12 students who are completing their training at Azienda Bergamasca Formazione (ABF) ― a regional technical school in picturesque Bergamo, Italy ― to South Carolina for a month of instruction, training, and manufacturing plant tours. Since the CAM opened in 2012, industries in the area have taken notice; many have contracted with Piedmont Tech (�鶹��Ƶ) to use its state-of-the-art training facility for their own employees. Brawo USA, which produces high-quality forgings across the interstate from the CAM, is part of a global company headquartered near Bergamo. As word of the CAM’s coveted resources traveled the European grapevine last year, ABF officials contacted �鶹��Ƶ, and plans for a visit emerged.

The apprenticeship program that quietly launched in 2016 at Velux in Greenwood has gradually attracted notice, and more employees say they want in. “Our apprentices have all been current employees,” said Brad Setzler, human resources generalist at Velux. “�鶹��Ƶ (�鶹��Ƶ) provided all the training and materials. �鶹��Ƶ coordinated everything, including helping secure the funds through Apprenticeship Carolina.”