Laying the Foundation

Comprehensive Education & Workforce Development Plan

By Jim Reynolds

As the unified voice of the business community, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is working in collaboration with education leaders to advocate for a much needed comprehensive approach to education and workforce development in South Carolina. The strategic plan covers the spectrum of K-12, higher education and adult workforce training.

The need for reform is colossal. For if action is not taken now, the future of South Carolina’s workforce will suffer.

• From 2010 to 2030 jobs in South Carolina will grow by 16 percent while the traditional labor pool available to fill these jobs will grow only seven percent based on current trends. That creates a nine percent gap which equates to 200,000 jobs without people by 2030.
• If South Carolina’s high school graduation rate matched the highest rate in the nation starting now, by 2025 the state’s workforce will still be 120,000 people short.

Here are the key strategies to ensure a competitive workforce over the next 20 years.

• Investment in early childhood education is necessary to ensure students are prepared to succeed when they enter school.

Continue funding Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) implementation:

• Also known as Personal Pathways to Success, this program enables students and adults to see the relevance of education to career choices and goals.
• Career counselors guide individual graduation plans for all students beginning in the eighth grade.
• At Risk programs that keep students on schedule to graduate are utilized in all state high schools.
• Dual credit courses provide a seamless transition to higher education.
• Twelve Regional Education Centers engage employers with students and adult workers aligned to economic development strategies in their regions.
• The Personal Pathways IT platform provides Web-based education and career planning for students, parents, educators and adult workers. It also provides data analysis to help support economic development planning by county and by region. Continue funding Technical College System:
• The Technical College System connects adults to education, skills and jobs through its associate degree and certificate programs as well as Continuing Education courses.
• The Registered Apprenticeship Office helps employers set up federally approved apprenticeships for their employees improving recruiting, retention, productivity and quality.
• Through QuickJobs programs, technical colleges offer three-to-six month training programs for adult workers to fill high demand jobs.
• Retool Carolina retrains existing workers for higher skill jobs to keep existing industries competitive and to attract new businesses to the state. Continue support for Colleges and Universities:
• Four Year Colleges and Research Universities provide a foundation for the knowledge economy.
• The Endowed Chairs Program is a long-term investment in building research capacity partnered with private industry that can commercialize inventions and patents to create jobs in South Carolina.

Establish Department of Workforce to coordinate statewide programs:

• Economic development and education are completely entwined, and South Carolina must have a comprehensive approach to education and workforce development that spans kindergarten to retirement.
• The State Workforce Investment Board (WIB), working through the Workforce Development Office of the Department of Commerce, has established a statewide strategic plan that encourages the local WIB’s to increase emphasis on training and upgrading skills of the adult workforce served through the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Working through One-Stops and in partnership with Technical Colleges, Adult Education and community organizations, WIA is providing training for under and unemployed adults and youth to fill skill gaps and prepare the workforce for recovery.

As the South Carolina General Assembly makes hard decisions regarding budgets for 2009-2010, we ask that this comprehensive strategic plan be a guide and that the above programs receive full support.

The above is a summary of Jim Reynolds’ March presentation to the Senate Education Committee. Click here to read the full presentation.
Reynolds is the chair of South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.