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| S C T E CHN I CA L CO L L E G E S Y S T EM ’ S
F I R S T 5 0 Y EAR S
The 1970s
A M O D E L F O R T H E N A T I O N E M E R G E S
here. Special Schools did it. Special Schools was the foundation of
the technical college system. It put people to work.”
When he joined the system, Dr. Darrel Staat saw how state
leaders literally went north and found businesses willing to come
to South Carolina. “At that time the big selling point was the labor
costs would be much less expensive. But, of course, there were
other incentives, including Special Schools. It made all kind of
sense to me. And when I went to Florence, I got very involved
with bringing businesses into that part of the state. Working with
the economic development people there opened my eyes to what
South Carolina was doing: bringing itself into the 20th century.”
out the training programs. We would bring those people in to
train in the training programs.”
“And then when the company was ready to open its doors,
you would have this cadre of people with the skills they said they
needed, ready with those skills, so they could move right in. And,
I think, without exception, you always get these accolades about
how well this group of people performs. Companies were manu-
facturing quality material with a shortened time frame for start-
up from maybe two years to six months.”
Ed Zobel remembers how Special Schools helped stem the
state’s loss of workers. “We had to find some way to keep folks
This TEC Informational Display was completed in 1974 and first used at Textile Hall in Greenville, South Carolina during the ITEX Convention
