Small Town News

HGTC and the business community

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Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) maintains an ongoing dialogue with the area's business, professional and healthcare communities. As a result, the quality, affordable higher education opportunities available at HGTC reflect the real-world needs of the Horry-Georgetown workforce. A good case in point is the college's construction management technology (CMT) associate degree program.

Placing the impact of the current recession aside, HGTC's service area represents one of the fastest growing regions in South Carolina. Over the last decade and more, the number of new housing unit permits issued along the Grand Strand nearly doubled in comparison to the statewide average. The number of building permits in Horry County rose by more than 114 percent for single-family residential units and 123 percent for multi-family units from 1994 until the recession hit home.

We will not see that tremendous level of growth repeat itself over the next five years, but once severe restrictions on available credit ease, and once the bulk of the backlog of completed new single and multi-family residences have sold, the demand for new construction here will again lead South Carolina.

"Baby Boomers" have begun to retire and their numbers will increase in the years ahead. A healthy share of them will settle in Horry and Georgetown counties.

This will signal a return to active residential and light commercial construction, as well as an expansion of public works, utilities, DOT and other forms of construction activity. The need for well-trained construction project site supervisors and project managers will grow in kind.

About sixyears ago, HGTC's leadership, in consultation with the area construction industry, identified a need to train qualified construction project site supervisors and project managers who would more effectively manage on-site labor and resources in the local construction trades. This gave birth to HGTC's construction management technology (CMT) associate degree program.

HGTC's CMT program is now the second largest comprehensive two year construction management associate degree program available in South Carolina, and the only program of its kind within a 125-mile radius.

The cost for establishing the CMT program was projected at $375,000. Since the state does not immediately fund new associate degree programs or enhancements to existing programs, the funds were raised from the private sector.

Burroughs and Chapin Company issued a fundraising challenge by agreeing to invest $125,000 in the new program, if others in the construction/development community would first invest a total of $250,000. The following companies and individuals joined together to achieve the $250,000 challenge goal: A Services Group, A&I Fire and Water Restoration, Blanton Building Supplies, Bobby Smith, The Conway National Bank, Chancel Construction, Coastal Drywall, College F/S, Dargan Construction Company, Edward Carey, Electric Service of South Carolina, FBi Construction, Frank Sloan, Full Steam Ahead Fire and Water Restoration, Harold Cush-man, Hay Construction, Horry Electric Co-op, Hugh Martin, Lillian Fowler, Long Bay Management Company, Metglas, New South Companies, Santee Cooper, Usry Wolf Peterson Doyle Architecture and Withers Construction.

The first CMT class began in the fall of2005.

The associate degree program prepares students to fill entry and mid-level supervisory construction industry positions, focusing on the knowledge and skills required to supervise an ongoing construction project, staying at or under cost, maintaining high quality and building to the specifications.

The program requires 70 credit hours with focuses on construction materials, engineering, technical drawing, algebra and trigonometry; surveying, public speaking, blueprint reading, CAD, building systems, statistics, cost estimating, soil mechanics, concrete design, construction management, technical communications, construction financial management, construction planning and scheduling, general psychology, technical Spanish I and much more.

Students visit active construction sites to experience that environment, and they must intern with local construction contractors.

CMT graduates start out as an assistant site or project supervisor. As they establish trust and gain additional experience, they are given increased responsibilities.

While students do enter the CMT program directly from high school, the average student is 25 years old, has a full-time job and earns their degree over two to three years.

They are focused individuals who, up until their discovery of the CMT program, could not find a career path that sparked their long-term interest.

Nine CMT students graduated during the academic year ending in May 2008, and eight graduated in the academic year ending in May 2009. Forty students have enrolled in the CMT program for fall 2009.

Recendy, HGTC established a CMT transfer program with Clemson University, and two HGTC graduates have transferred into Clemson's Construction Science and Management bachelor's of science degree program. Clemson accepted all of their HGTC CMT associate degree credits.

Professor Orlando Arteaga leads HGTC's CMT program. He holds a master's degree in engineering management and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, both from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is licensed as a professional engineer in South Carolina and New Jersey, and as a construction manager in South Carolina. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Orlando's office phone number is 349-5312 and his e-mail address is Or-lando.artega@hgtc.edu.

PAT D0WLING is executive director of the HGTC Foundation. Contact him at (843) 477-2116 or PAT.D0WL-ING@HCTC.EDU.



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© 2009 The Loris Scene Loris, South Carolina. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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