by Dr. Willie L. Todd, Jr., Denmark Technical College President & CEO
Only 27% of college graduates work in a field related to their college major. Yet 30% of college students change majors at least once.
Denmark Technical College (DTC) in Bamberg County is on a mission to change that and more. We aim to connect students to their fundamental purpose by aligning their aptitudes with their education and ultimately careers. When students have purpose and know what they’ll excel at, we can address students not pursuing the right majors and show them apprenticeship, internship, and career opportunities available right here in town.
Local opportunities are critical. The US Census shows the population in South Carolina communities steadily shrinking over the past three decades. In Bamberg County alone, the population declined by 16.7% from 2010 to 2020. Often, it’s when a community lacks local education opportunities that population decline begins. And once the population declines, the economy follows, and industries then relocate and take needed jobs with them.
Without colleges, high school graduates leave. Without jobs, others can’t afford to stay. They leave for larger cities, like Greenville, Charleston, or Columbia, or leave the state. The loss of talent hurts rural economies and further increases population and industry loss.
DTC is changing the dynamic for students and local employers by aligning education and industry. DTC starts by using science to empower students to make the best-fit career choices. These aren’t their parents’ choices or, like me, the choice of an English major because they were good in English class. It’s the students’ aptitudes that guide the choice. DTC offers the YouScience Discovery aptitude assessment to all applicants before they even set up their first class schedule. Discovery uses psychometrically valid exercises to find proven aptitudes.
Once students complete the assessment, they see careers they’re naturally inclined to do well at and therefore will enjoy doing. They see careers they may have never thought of or receive validation on a path they’ve already chosen. They also see local employers seeking those aptitudes and skills for apprenticeships, work-based training, and permanent roles.
The assessment and working closely with DTC counselors to better understand their results and develop their educational pathways ensures students make informed decisions about their futures. DTC is in its second year of using the YouScience platform and is already seeing a decrease in the number of students changing majors.
The routes students uncover aren’t always, and don’t have to be traditional four-year degrees either. Some DTC students go on to pursue those degrees. Others don’t.
NPR ran an article just this week about the decreasing need to have a four-year college degree to earn a good living. It pointed out a Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce study that found that people without bachelor’s now often earn more than people with them.
Bamberg Country has strong alumni from DTC who are doing phenomenally well, who are entrepreneurs and who came through DTC’s technical programs.
The YouScience platform lets us connect students to both traditional and technical pathways and connect their strengths to in-demand, well-paying technical careers. DTC uses Precision Exams by YouScience certifications to offer students identified as naturally talented for technical pathways access to more than 200 industry-recognized certifications. Certifications give students an advantage in the job market and are matched to the aptitudes uncovered by YouScience Discovery.
Precision Exams by YouScience helps DTC ensure the standards taught in our classrooms meet, if not exceed, what industry — local industry — needs today. We’re developing the talent industries need to thrive right here in Bamberg County. And we’re offering students a quality educational experience with innovative career guidance that keeps them home for their post-secondary schooling too.
DTC is working to partner with industry as well, so that it sees we have needed graduates right here and moves in or stays. There are groups like Southern Carolina Alliance and Ready SC and other groups also working directly to make sure that happens. Even Congressman James Clyburn helped by working with the Savannah River nuclear plant to create opportunities for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), including DTC.
At the core of DTC’s mission as a HBCU is keeping students, education, and industry here. The YouScience identity formation and career exploration lets us meet students where they are and take them where they need to be as the perfect starting point.
Edson Barton, CEO of YouScience, shared with me, “DTC is really fulfilling the YouScience promise of aligning how individuals, education, and industries achieve success.”
It’s a promise DTC shares. At the end of the day our mission is about nurturing the whole student to help them find happiness and satisfaction in their lives. The YouScience platform helps us do that for students starting day one. And if we can help students, we can help Bamberg County evolve and grow and do our part to help the community thrive.
