New college initiative to “train and retain” business leaders in Spartanburg County

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A college in the Upstate is using a new program to train and retain business leaders in Spartanburg County.

Representatives with Spartanburg Community College told 7NEWS they’re helping more than a hundred people prepare for the workforce who may otherwise have not had the opportunity.

Dean of the School of Business at Spartanburg Community College Alan Duesterhaus said the work is being done through their new accelerated entrepreneurship program.

It’s a seven and a half week business course that gives small and minority business owners the chance to network while learning about business projections, marketing and consumers.

“Some of them have been just kind of buying themselves a job. What we’re giving them is the opportunity to get skills and knowledge to move it up a notch so that they’re not just buying themselves a job, that maybe they’re employing other people, and helping the economy and the UpState,” said Duesterhaus.

The college expects to see big ripple effects in the local economy.

“It’s a different beast when you start dealing with large companies and the government. They’ve got a lot of requirements that you have to overcome, and we’re helping to get the skills that they need to be able to do that,” Duesterhaus also said.

College representatives said their next class kicks off this month. They’re working with the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce to serve 200 people over the next six months.

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