BMW opens new training center near Plant Spartanburg.

• Position: Spartanburg, South Carolina

BMW opened a new $20 million training center today with a goal of promoting creative learning, fostering innovation and advancing technical skills in a changing automotive industry.

The 68,000-square-foot training center includes classrooms for professional development and technical training, an amphitheater and an outdoor meeting and workspace that includes wireless capabilities.

The center is near the manufacturing plant off S.C. Highway 101 in Greer. It will be the North American training hub for all future technologies for BMW associates tasked with mastering state-of-the-art skills to stay ahead of industry standards, according to a news release.

"Out associates are rising to the challenge to make the BMW Group electric, digital and circular," Ilka Horstmeier, a member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said in the news release. She also is director for people and real estate, labor relations. "This new training center will give the entire Plant Spartanburg team the environment to learn and grow their careers and meet the demands of our customers worldwide Through training in digitalization and future technologies, we will ensure that the BMW Group remains the leader in mobility and is an attractive workplace for future generations."

With 40 functional learning spaces, the center's inside areas include space for hands-on vocational training such as welding, metal fabrication and machine tools, as well a advanced technical training for robotics and controls, mechatronics and automotive technology. The robotics area is designed for flexibility with robot cells on self-contained pallets that can be moved and plugged in to overhead electrical outlets.

"The contributions our associates make to BMW are invaluable," BMW Manufacturing CEO and President Robert Engelhorn said in the news...