There are good jobs waiting for local students and Nephron wants to give you one.

Gov. Henry McMaster joined Nephron Pharmaceuticals CEO Lou Kennedy, and National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons, in West Columbia Wednesday, for the Nephron stop of the Creators Wanted workforce development exhibition and tour.

“The main thing that the manufacturers and employers that I talk to, that want to expand or want to invest or want to build, the main thing they’re looking for is they want people that have the attitude and culture that we have in South Carolina,” said McMaster.

McMaster also characterized the state’s workforce.
“We’re a patriotic state,” said McMaster. “We’re loyal. We’re determined. We love our neighbors and we take care of them.”

He also said we need to make sure young people realize all that is available to them and that manufacturers, like Nephron, are at the forefront of job creation.

Kennedy said the jobs being created by Nephron are high-paying jobs, in the mid-$70,000 range as the average.

“This is great for South Carolinians,” said Kennedy. “There is no need to go to Atlanta, Charlotte or beyond. Stay home and innovate right here in the state.”

Kennedy advised students to look for internships and apprenticeships. She also said Nephron was hosting three school field trips a week for students who toured Nephron before the COVID pandemic hit.

Kyle Caughman is the electricity Instructor at the Lexington Two Innovation Center in Cayce. He said Nephron has been very cooperative and works to get Airport High School and Brookland-Cayce High School students to come in and tour the company.

“We’ve been very impressed with the effort Nephron makes to recruit our students,” Caughman said. He also said some Lexington Two students have gone on to work for Nephron.

Bryce Radford is a senior at Brookland-Cayce. He was at the exhibition, Wednesday.

“I’d definitely consider a career at Nephron,” said Radford. “I think it would be a great place to work.”

The exhibition is sponsored by Nephron in partnership with N.A.M., and it will visit West Columbia on Thursday and Friday, too. This represents the only Creators Wanted tour stop in South Carolina.