Staff Report
Published July 16, 2010
South Carolina is among the top states in the nation for employment in several engineering occupations, according to numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Palmetto State ranks second in the nation in employment of industrial engineers, third for industrial engineering technicians and fourth for environmental engineering technicians. The state ranks fifth in employment of health and safety engineers.
South Carolina also ranks high in the nuclear energy field, ranking first in the nation in nuclear power reactor operators and nuclear technicians, and eighth in the nation in nuclear engineers.
Additionally, the state ranks sixth in employment of chemical engineers and mechanical engineers and ninth in environmental engineers. The state is fourth in employment of chemical plant and system operators.
In the past year, a variety of companies have announced investments in South Carolina that require a range of engineering expertise. Such companies include Scientific Research Corp., BAE Systems, Alexium, Fujifilm, Kemet, MTU Detroit Diesel and Proterra.
In particular, South Carolina’s aerospace sector has seen an explosion of growth with major investments from Boeing, GE Aviation and others.
Some other engineering areas in which South Carolina ranks high nationally include:
- First in concentration of team assemblers.
- Second in concentration of engine and other machine assemblers.
- Third in concentration of chemical equipment operators and tenders.
- Third in concentration of computer-controlled machine tool operators.
The need for Engineers in Charleston is being met with force by the combined efforts of the tri-county K-12 FIRST Robotics teams to build the future manufacturing/technical workforce. These teams are in every Dorchester District Two elementary and middle school and we have the only tri-country robotics team for high school students that includes students from over 12 high schools and home schooled students. We are preparing fundraising and accepting donations to begin to expand these programs and to have several additional high school teams this year. Additionally for high school age students, the Summer pyGames Competition focuses on computer technology, where students make educational games for South Carolina schools participating in the One Laptop per Child program hosted by the Palmetto Project. Coordinating this effort to engage our students in exciting technology extracurricular groups is the R.E.A.D.Y (Robotics, Engineering, Advancement, & Design for Youth) Fund. READY is proud and fortunate to have partners from Bosch, BAE Systems, SPAWAR and NDEP, BP, Dorchester County Council, Bosch RexRoth, Charleston Defense Contractors Association, The InterTech Group, Booz, Allen, Hamilton, and The Girl Scouts who donate to local teams and provide professional support in the form of volunteers, ensuring students are receiving some of the best hands-on experience and job training available to our area. Planting these seeds early to build our future workforce and continuing year-over-year to cultivate the growth and education, READY is accepting donations and mentors. Please see our website www.scready.org for more information.
