FLORENCE — Florence 1 Schools is reviving a program to prepare students for jobs at Florence County’s AESC electric vehicle battery plant.
AESC is expected to employ 2,700 people when it opens in 2027. The company will produce electric vehicle battery cells for BMW plants in Spartanburg and Mexico.
The school district partnered with the battery plant and will unveil a mechatronics program next school year at its career center to teach students how to succeed in the evolving engineering field, with an aim for students to walk away from the program with industry-recognized certifications, ready to take on battery plant jobs.
“The launch of the new Mechatronics program at Advantage Academy is a significant step towards building a robust talent pipeline for AESC’s plant in South Carolina,” AESC SC Project Director Cody Drake said in a press release.
The district’s career center offered mechatronics nearly two decades ago in 2007, District Communications Specialist Melissa Rollins said, but it was quickly shuttered the following year. Now, the $3.12 billion electric vehicle battery plant lit the fuse for the program’s reintroduction.
Advantage Academy School Counselor Bryan Dubose said in a press release that local businesses and growth played a part in the decision to revive the program.
Apart from the battery plant, the program will give students interested in robotics, engineering and industrial maintenance a leg up in post-secondary careers, he said.
Students in 10th through 12th grades will be eligible to participate in the four-course program.
A variety of industry-recognized certifications, like Occupational Safety and Health Administration, will be available.
Overall, it’s a step toward making the county a hub for advanced manufacturing, Florence County Economic Development Partnership CEO Gregg Robinson said. “As our community embraces the future of technology and innovation, the launch of the new mechatronics program at Advantage Academy through Florence One Schools marks a pivotal moment in preparing our workforce for the opportunities ahead,” Robinson said.
The electric vehicle battery plant already has seen growth — even before opening. An investment in late March sealed the deal for a second site to be built on the plant’s nearly 900-acre property near Quinby in Florence County.
