Liberty, SC – Just a little more than a week after local business and industry came together to raise more than $10,000 to support the School District of Pickens County’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives, a Pickens County company is raising the bar with another donation aimed at supporting technical education.
United Tool and Mold, an Easley company that repairs and reengineers mold tooling for manufacturers, presented Brian Aiken, machine and tool technology instructor at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center and Leonard Williams, the Career and Technology Center’s director, with a check for $7,500.00.
“I was contacted by Jeromy Arnett at United Tool and Mold last year about the possibility of partnering with them to deliver the Expert Tech training software they were using with their registered apprenticeship program to both their employees and our students,” said Aiken.
“The generous gift of $7,500 dollars will purchase this software and provide internet based training on CNC machining, injection molding, stamping dies, shop floor communication and leadership. This investment in education is helping provide our students, businesses, and community with the best advanced manufacturing training available and another powerful economic development tool,” continued Aiken.
For Jeromy Arnett, quality manager at United Tool and Mold, the donation is just a reflection of the company’s commitment to help prepare the technically skilled future workforce in Pickens County.
“At a time when highly skilled employees are so in demand, this donation was made to further push the envelope in technical training at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center,” said Arnett. “By providing the funds to purchase this software, we feel that we are making an investment in the future of the Machine Tool Technology program.”
“We have found success in the past with students we have hired from the MMT program, and we hope that this gift will help supplement the education of future employees of United Tool & Mold as well,” Arnett continued.
Ray Farley, executive director of Alliance Pickens, applauds the generosity and leadership of United Tool and Mold and is excited by their hands-on approach.
“United Tool and Mold is leading a growing number of Pickens County manufacturers that are working closely with the SDPC, the Pickens County Career and Technology Center and Tri County Technical College to coordinate skill requirements of the workplace with skill training and development in the classroom,” stated Farley.
“Kudos to Jeremy Arnett and Scott Phipps for leading from the front and for making this significant investment in the students of our community.”
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