With the continued growth of the manufacturing sector in the Upstate, the demand for skilled workers is driving a blue-collar job boom that is giving young people and other job seekers a range of employment options.
The social stigma that may have been present in the past toward people who earn their livings through the skill of their hands has diminished as new generations of workers have found rewarding and well-paid careers making and fixing things.
For 23-year-old Brandon Tessneer, choosing a career in manufacturing has allowed him and his wife to become homeowners at an age when such a goal remains only an aspiration for many of their peers…