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'It's a win-win': OC Tech partners with Savannah River Site contractor in new co-op

The program is open to students enrolled in the electronic instrumentation program in their final semester at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College has partnered with the Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) to offer hands-on training in a new co-op program.

The program is designed to prepare students for possible employment at the Savannah River Site, a nuclear facility operated by the U.S. Department of Energy in parts of Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale counties.

“It’s a win-win for both of us," said program coordinator Fred Hutto.

The program is open to students enrolled in the electronic instrumentation program in their final semester at OC Tech.

Students are getting hands-on training in the field by putting what they learn in the classroom to the test with the potential for either part-time or full-time employment after graduation. 

They are given a four-month period to work with SRMC while enrolled at OC Tech. The goal is to help fulfill a need for more workers in the industry.

“From what I hear from all of these partners, attrition is hitting them all about the same time," Hutto said. "They had all these order technicians starting to retire all around the same time. The field itself, the instrumentation of the field, is needed everywhere."

The first participant in the co-op is Robert Ott who is working at a liquid waste facility at the Savannah River site. He started with the co-op in January.

“I’m just, I guess, hoping to learn more in the E&I (electronic and instrumentation) field. I’m still really debating if I wanna go back to school or not and further my education with electrical work," said Ott.

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