GREER, S.C. — Nearly 900 middle and high school students from across the Upstate got an inside look at modern manufacturing Tuesday, Oct. 6, when BMW held its Manufacturing Careers Day at its training center in Greer, S.C.
It was the second year for the event, and company leaders said they hope to keep it going. Students toured booths and saw robotics and automation up close, with several saying the plant’s technology surprised them and that the robotics lab was the highlight.
Paul Sinanian, who leads talent development and apprenticeship programs for BMW, said the company learned it has to reach students as early as middle school, along with parents and school counselors, to build a reliable talent pipeline. He said the region’s manufacturing base is expanding even faster than its workforce.
Sinanian also addressed fears about automation. BMW added humanoid robots to some production processes over the summer, and he said new technology is changing what jobs require rather than eliminating them, which is why schools need to keep training aligned with employer needs.
BMW says its Spartanburg County plant covers about 10 million square feet and employs roughly 11,000 people. A study by state manufacturing and commerce groups puts manufacturing’s yearly economic impact in South Carolina at around $300 billion, supporting more than 730,000 jobs.
The careers day is tied to a statewide More to be Made campaign run with manufacturers and the technical college system to promote factory careers.
