---
title: "HEAR HERE: OneSpartanburg brands its work-based learning push as EDGE, eyeing 600+ student placements for summer 2026"
url: https://www.herespartanburg.com/hear-here-onespartanburg-edge-work-based-learning-2026-04-29/
date: 2026-04-29T19:13:09-04:00
modified: 2026-04-29T19:13:27-04:00
author: "Reginald Orr"
categories: ["Business"]
site: "HERESpartanburg"
attribution: "HERESpartanburg"
---

# HEAR HERE: OneSpartanburg brands its work-based learning push as EDGE, eyeing 600+ student placements for summer 2026

*Source: [HERESpartanburg](https://www.herespartanburg.com/hear-here-onespartanburg-edge-work-based-learning-2026-04-29/) — April 29, 2026 by Reginald Orr*

OneSpartanburg, Inc. has rolled out a formal brand — **EDGE** — to unify its work-based learning push across Spartanburg County, covering paid internships, apprenticeships, and other student placements with local employers. The chamber-and-economic-development entity confirmed the branding to [Upstate Business Journal](https://upstatebusinessjournal.com/business-news/onespartanburg-announces-branding-for-work-based-learning-initiative/) on April 22, with OneSpartanburg president and CEO Allen Smith and senior leaders Ron Garner and Taylor Dement positioning EDGE as both a student-experience program and a long-term workforce-retention play for Spartanburg County.

Per OneSpartanburg’s own count, employer commitments to the program have grown sharply since launch: **203 paid placements in summer 2024**, climbing to **556 placements in summer 2025**, with the organization saying total summer-2026 placements should eclipse 600. [OneSpartanburg’s news page](https://www.onespartanburginc.com/news) and an additional segment on [South Carolina Public Radio’s Business Review](https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/show/south-carolina-business-review/2026-04-22/spartanburg-county-posts-big-econ-dev-numbers) both reference the “near-record” economic-development year that produced the program’s growth runway.

**Why it matters for Spartanburg-area employers:** EDGE is being positioned as both a student advantage and a structured recruiting pipeline for public and private employers in Spartanburg County. OneSpartanburg leaders have repeatedly emphasized two themes — *retention* (keeping Spartanburg-raised talent in Spartanburg after graduation) and *early-career experience* (giving high schoolers a real paid first job before they’re competing in a much wider labor market). Employers participating to date span manufacturing supply chains tied to BMW and Milliken, regional healthcare systems including Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, and the public sector through the seven Spartanburg County school districts and Spartanburg Community College.

**What’s next:** Employers interested in hosting summer-2026 EDGE placements are being directed to onespartanburginc.com for participation details. OneSpartanburg has not publicly broken out the EDGE 2026 mix between traditional internships and registered apprenticeships, but Garner indicated to Upstate Business Journal that the goal is a measurable lift in apprenticeships year-over-year, not just paid summer roles.