Unemployed individuals in South Carolina will be able to get free job training at technical colleges through a new program announced Tuesday.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced the initiative to offer free job training to unemployed individuals during a press conference Tuesday morning at the Anderson campus of Tri-County Technical College.
Details of the new program were discussed by Rep. Brian White; executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, Dan Ellzey; S.C. Technical College System President Dr. Tim Hardee and Tri-County Technical College President Dr. Galen DeHay.
What is the program and who is qualified for it?
The program is a partnership between the South Carolina Technical College System and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
Through the initiative, anyone who is unemployed in South Carolina can receive free training for high-demand jobs at any technical college in the state. While the program is limited to specific programs, there are a wide variety of options. Applicants can pursue careers as a lineman technician, welder, commercial driver, patient care technician and manufacturing technician, among others.
Hardee said each program takes about 16 weeks or less to complete and has a high placement rate in the workforce.
The only requirement for applicants is that they are currently unemployed. McMaster said even those who are unemployed but have prior education experience, like a bachelor’s degree, are still eligible for the program.
Ellzey said D.E.W. is heavily advertising the program to unemployed people in the state, encouraging them to get back to work or get started on some job training.
“Unemployment is not a career,” Ellzey said. “Jobs are where you get a career and we’ve got to figure out how to get those 87,000 people back to a job whether it’s directly or whether it’s through training.”
How is it funded?
McMaster said he awarded $8 million in funding to the S.C. Technical College System from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Funds in January.
According to the governor’s website, the GEER Fund was provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. South Carolina received $48 million.
McMaster dedicated $19.9 million of the $48 million to education and workforce training. Along with the S.C. Technical College System, funds went to the S.C. Department of Social Services, the Office of First Steps and the S.C. Department of Education.
Why was it created?
With federal unemployment programs ending this month, state officials wanted a way to make sure people have plenty of options when going back into the workforce.
“You don’t just cut people off without giving them a hand up,” White said.
He used the familiar example of “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
“We’ve been giving fish for a while,” White said. “Now it’s time to go fishing and take the golden opportunity that the governor has provided at no cost to you to get an education. Get a skillset that provides for you and your family for the future.”
But the program has another purpose as well – providing workers for high-demand jobs that employers are desperate to fill.
“All of us in the room hear about what the shortages are in the state of South Carolina,” Hardy said. “What we’re trying to do is address that and match it up to unemployed people with those jobs that are needed across the state.”
McMaster said these shortages are not new and have been a problem for a while. Ellzey said there are currently 86,000 open jobs in the state, and those are just the ones they have in their system.
“We want people to view it as this is an opportunity for you to access a skill,” Hardy said. “By having these marketable skills, then you’re going to be able to match up to a good job in the state of South Carolina.”
The free training opportunities will be available until the current funds run out.
“We’ve got the culture, we have the people that can excel, so what is missing is that we must get them trained and educated,” McMaster said. “ …But I am confident that it will develop into a new model for our whole state and will continue on and on, the best is yet to come.”
Justine Lookenott covers breaking news for the Independent Mail. Reach out to her at jlookenott@gannett.com, on Twitter at @justalookenott or through Facebook.
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