BMW Manufacturing Doubles Size of BMW Scholars Program.

Adds Piedmont Technical College as Fourth Education Partner. 

Spartanburg, S.C. – January 31, 2018 – For more than seven years, BMW Manufacturing has offered the BMW Scholars program, an apprenticeship program that educates and trains students to work in the highly-technical environment of advanced manufacturing. Today, BMW Manufacturing announced that it will expand the number of apprentices in its BMW Scholars program to 200, doubling the size of the program. With this increase, BMW will add a fourth education partner in Piedmont Technical College.

“Technology is constantly changing in the automotive industry,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “Now more than ever, we must invest in highly-skilled workers who can solve problems. Investing in BMW Scholars allows us to develop a pool of talented men and women who will help sustain the future of BMW.”

BMW Manufacturing first announced the Scholars program in 2011, partnering with three area technical colleges: Spartanburg Community College, Greenville Technical College and Tri-County Technical College. In the program, students attend class full-time and work at the BMW plant for 20 – 25 hours per week. BMW covers the cost of tuition and books, provides healthcare benefits and pays students for their work at BMW. 

“Working with our education partners we are able to build the skilled workforce that BMW needs,” said Ryan Childers, department manager for talent programs at BMW. “Ten or more years ago, you might have a mechanic, an electrician and a robotics person all employed in a manufacturing environment. Now we need all those skills in one person. With advanced manufacturing and the new economy, that’s what the market demands.”

Additional Education Partner

With the expansion of BMW Scholars, the company will add Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, South Carolina, as its fourth education partner.

“Teamwork and collaboration between BMW and our education partners have been the key to the success of BMW Scholars,” said Childers. “I’m confident that adding Piedmont Technical College will only enrich our program. It’s through this great public-private partnership that the next-generation of BMW associates are being developed.”

Since the Scholars program began, there have been six graduating classes and 138 BMW Scholar graduates. Every Scholar has been offered a full-time position at BMW. 

BMW Scholar Success Story

After spending nine years in the U.S. Army – including two combat tours in Iraq – and four years in law enforcement, Joel Pridmore decided he needed a career change. Pridmore, a 2004 graduate of Dorman High School, said he wasn’t sure what career path to take until he read about the BMW Scholars program on the Spartanburg Community College website. 

“I watched the BMW Scholar recruitment video on my phone one day and saw all the robots welding cars,” Pridmore said. “I love technology and that really piqued my interest.” 

Pridmore applied through Spartanburg Community College and became a Scholar in 2016.  For nearly two years, he’s attended classes full-time and worked at BMW about 20 hours per week.  He will graduate the program in May with an associate’s degree in mechatronics.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity BMW has given me to learn and to apply my skills on the job,” he said. “This program has been a blessing to me and my wife, and I’m excited to see where my career goes in the future.”

To Apply As A BMW Scholar

Persons interested in the BMW Scholars program should apply at one of the four education partners:

• Spartanburg Community College – Jennifer Little, 864-592-4808, littlej@sccsc.edu 
• Greenville Technical College – Susan Gasque, 864-250-8105, susan.gasque@gvltec.edu
• Tri-County Technical College – Cheryl Garrison, 864-646-1573, cgarris3@tctc.edu 
• Piedmont Technical College – Chris Lipp, 864-682-3702, lipp.c@ptc.edu              
                                                       Charles Dixon, 864-941-8656, dixon.c@ptc.edu

Students must study in one of the following areas:  automotive technology, robotics/mechatronics/industrial maintenance, mechanical or electrical engineering, logistics/supply chain management, or production associate technology or other related manufacturing fields. Students must maintain a minimum 2.8 GPA while in the program.

BMW Manufacturing currently produces 1,400 vehicles each day, exporting 70 percent of these models to 140 global markets. The model portfolio includes the BMW X3, X4, X5 and X6 Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes (and their variants). The all-new BMW X7 will debut in late 2018.  Last year (2017), the Spartanburg plant produced 371,284 vehicles. The plant has a production capacity of 450,000 vehicles and employs 10,000 people.

In June, the BMW Group announced it will invest an additional $600 million in the Spartanburg plant from 2018 through 2021 to support manufacturing infrastructure for future generations of X models. An additional 1,000 jobs will also be added through 2021.

BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC

BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany and is the global producer of the BMW X3 and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X4 and X6 Sports Activity Coupe. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW Group North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; and a design firm and technology office in California. For more information on BMW Manufacturing, visit bmwusfactory.com.

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BMW Group in America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 344 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 127 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

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Journalist note:  BMW Plant Spartanburg information is available at bmwusfactory.com.  Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available at press.bmwna.comand bmwusanews.com.   

If you have any questions, please contact Corporate Communications:

Sky Foster, Department Manager, Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing

Telephone: +1 864-802-5546, sky.foster@bmwmc.com

Steve Wilson, Media Communications Specialist, Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing

Telephone: +1 864-802-5346, Steve.wilson@bmwmc.com