SCC Expands Welding Offerings at Cherokee County Campus with $20,000 Duke Energy Foundation Grant

Students at Spartanburg Community College’s Cherokee County Campus will soon be able to earn their Advanced Welding Certificate without the need to commute to the Giles Campus in Spartanburg thanks to a $20,000 grant provided by the Duke Energy Foundation.

The grant, received by the SCC Foundation, will help the College acquire essential safety equipment and a structure designed to facilitate hands-on practice real-world welding scenarios. 

“We’ve had a strong partnership with Spartanburg Community College for many years,” said Linda Hannon, government and community relations manager for Duke Energy Foundation. “Safety is paramount for us. When we learned about the College’s need for welding safety equipment, we felt this project was a perfect fit and aligned with our priorities at Duke Energy."

“Duke Energy and The Duke Energy Foundation are long-time partners of our Foundation, and we greatly appreciate their continued investments that we, in turn, invest in the students, faculty and programs of Spartanburg Community College,” said John Jaraczewski, executive director of the SCC Foundation. “We understand that our investment back into the College empowers excellent faculty that provide leading edge programs to drive continued growth in our region.” said John Jaraczewski, executive director of the SCC Foundation.”

Knowledge of safe welding practices and real-world training scenarios are critical to mastering advanced welding techniques. The programmatic expansion and enhancement made possible through this grant will quickly increase the number of qualified welders in Cherokee County.

Students at SCC are able to pursue a lucrative career in welding through a Certificate or Associate’s Degree (AAS) in Welding. These programs provide students with training and hands-on experience in shielding metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, gas metal arc welding, oxy-fuel cutting, and more. Over the past three years, SCC has awarded 237 Certificate and AAS Degrees in Welding and the programs have experienced a 45% growth in terms of graduates.