The Available Workforce You Need

Charleston offers the workforce and talent companies need to succeed and grow. Even with recent successes such as Boeing, Volvo, and Daimler expanding in the market, Charleston MSA’s labor pool offers more opportunities for continued business growth. Since 2010, it has grown 3 times faster than the U.S. average and twice as fast as South Carolina’s average.

Highly-skilled workers

that help drive business

13,300 People

ANNUAL NET IN-MIGRATION

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

13,200 candidates

SCREENED & LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC OCCUPATIONS

Source: SC Works

48,000 apprentices

TRAINED STATEWIDE SINCE 2008

Source: Apprenticeship Carolina

44,000 students

ENROLLED IN AREA COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES

Source: U.S. Dept of Education

AN EDUCATED, FAST-GROWING

TALENT POOL

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

% of population 25+

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE GROWTH

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

three reasons to choose

charleston

Low To No-Cost Training

In fiscal year 2022, ReadySC, a free, customized workforce training program for qualifying companies creating new jobs in the Charleston region, trained more than 5,700 skilled workers for 115 local manufacturers and suppliers.

Competitive Incentives

Property tax incentives, sales tax exemptions, and special discretionary incentives at the local and state levels. Plus, there are many ways to reduce, or even eliminate, your company's corporate income taxes.

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Innovative Education

The Charleston region is home to more than 20 colleges and universities that produce highly-skilled talent, drive groundbreaking research and technological breakthroughs, and build a globally competitive market. We are nurturing locally grown innovation, aligning education with business, and commercializing technologies.

Workforce Training

APPRENTICESHIP CAROLINA

Ensures all S.C. employers have access to the information and technical assistance they need to create demand-driven registered apprenticeship programs – an “earn while you learn” training model combining structured on the job training, job-related education, and a scalable wage progression.

EXISTING INDUSTRY RETRAINING FUNDS

Supports existing S.C. companies by offsetting a portion of the cost associated with the retraining of qualifying employees. Retraining approved and coordinated by local technical college. Application to the Coordinating Council for Economic Development is required for consideration ($500 application fee)

READYSC CUSTOMIZED TRAINING

State-funded program, readySC is provided at little or no cost. Customized workforce recruitment, assessment, training development, management and implementation services to qualifying companies, from one of the oldest and most experienced workforce training programs in the United States.

SC Future Makers

The goal of the South Carolina Future Makers initiative is to expose and connect the next generation in the state of South Carolina to all of the opportunities it has to offer, close the STEM skills gap, and ultimately retain talent for future economic development and regional prosperity.

SC WORKS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING SERVICES

Provided through the Trident One-Stop Career System, SC Works offers employment-related services available to both job seekers and employers. Services help eliminate or reduce the costs of employee recruitment, screening and testing.

EDUCATION-POWERED

innovation

The Charleston region is home to more than 20 colleges and universities that train the local workforce, drive groundbreaking research and technological breakthroughs, and build a globally competitive market.

CHARLESTON | SC | USA

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Nurturing locally grown innovation.

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