Excitement building over Oconee Campus of TCTC

Oconee County fulfilled a 150-year-old dream of having a college in the Golden Corner when partners from government, education and economic development gathered in July to break ground on the future site of the long-awaited Oconee Campus of Tri-County Technical College (TCTC). As the campus grows so to does the excitement, says Rebecca Eidson, Director of Public Relations and Communications at TCTC. “Well, we’re really excited particularly since the model that we are developing is so unique and is going to really benefit the citizens of Oconee County. Because of our partnership with the county and with the school district and having our campus located at the Oconee County Industry and Technology Park; its just going to be a wonderful way to particularly focus on helping students take advantage of great career opportunities in manufacturing. We will be offering other general education classes as well, but our focus is to make sure that we provide opportunities for your local industries to have trained employees ready to go to work and boy, those are where the great jobs are and the great pay.” The Oconee County Industry and Technology Park, located on Highway 11 in Westminster, will co-locate an Oconee Campus of TCTC, a new Career Center for high school students, adult education and industry. The result will be a unique center for technical education, work-based learning and economic development. Eidson tells when the campus will open. “It will be open for fall semester a year from now, fall of 2018, which means late August.” The 37,000-square-foot Oconee Campus is estimated to cost $7.25 million and will be paid for by state-appropriation funds.