SC Businesses attend 2024 Workforce Development Symposium

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Business leaders from around the state came together at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center for the 2024 Workforce Development Symposium.

Sponsored by the SC Chamber of Commerce and the SC Department of Employment and Workforce, the day-long event includes discussions on challenges currently faced by SC businesses — and how implementing new initiatives and training techniques can grow a more skilled workforce, especially with today’s youth.

Governor McMaster says the goal is to have more young people decide to live and have a career in SC, versus calling another state home.

“They may wanna go experience something somewhere else for a while, but we want them to grow up here, we want them to live here, have children here, and their children have children here. Let the world be open to them, but there’s no better place to live than this place,” McMaster says.

SC DEW’s Executive Director William Floyd says in collaboration with industry associations and nonprofits, a new unified state plan has been developed with one goal of providing better awareness of available jobs.

“And through a new initiative we have called Explore SC At Work, we are providing snapshots of occupations and jobs, including in the healthcare industry, to tell our youth and adults, here’s a job. Here’s what it pays. These are the employers that are hiring, and here’s how to get there. So that’s how we’re helping to provide awareness,” he says.

Another goal of the unified plan is to help overcome obstacles to landing a job, especially in rural areas where broadband capacity and internet access are still being developed by the state.

“While we’re waiting for that to happen though, DEW is going out to where the job seekers are and with the help of the general assembly we have a new rural initiative that is ongoing right now. We’re going to the K.J. parking lots, we’re going to the churches that are hosting job events and we’re connecting people with work and work with people,” he says.

Another obstacle faced by South Carolinian job seekers? Childcare, says SC Chamber of Commerce President Mike Brenan.

“We expect to see some movement around that in hopefully the next session. It’s something we’re doing some research on and we’re going to advocate for,” Brenan says.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, SC’s unemployment rate is at 3.9% (ranked 31st in America) with currently about 148,000 job openings across the state.