SC faces shortfall of workers with at least a 2-year degree

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former Democratic governor and Republican state treasurer told senators last week they should look at higher education as an investment, rather than a cost, since South Carolina’s economic future depends on a more educated workforce.

Gov. Jim Hodges and Ken Wingate, former treasurer and chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, gave a joint presentation to the Senate Education Committee on a study commissioned by the Competing for Knowledge initiative.

The study shows that just over half of the new jobs created over the next 15 years will require more than a high school education. By 2030, South Carolina faces a shortage of roughly 115,000 workers who hold at least an associate’s degree.

Currently, just one in four South Carolinians over age 24 holds at least a bachelor’s degree.