Charleston: Its Workforce Programs Have Become A National Model

Karen Winningham has had a very interesting and fulfilling career.

Thinking she would have a service career, her path changed when she began working for Robert Bosch LLC as an operator in port fuel injection for the gasoline systems division. After ten years in this position, she decided to apply for the company’s apprenticeship program. She was accepted, specialized in machine tool technology and graduated three years later. That program enabled her to become part of the skilled labor workforce at the company where she worked as a mechanic.

But her story doesn’t end there. She became an instructor for the apprenticeship program and was part of the group that moved the apprenticeship program from industrial mechanics to mechatronics in order to prepare for the future.

“The opportunities I received as part of this apprentice program has given me a career that I never thought I would have,” explains Winningham. She is currently the senior HR partner and was part of the team that launched the Youth Apprenticeship Program at Bosch Charleston.

Read the full article, IndustryWeek…