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Workforce Development Resources

ReadySC

(Formerly Center for Accelerated Technology Training or CATT)

For more than 50 years, readySC™, an integral part of the SC Technical College System, has provided one of the state’s most powerful economic development incentives. readySC™ focuses on the recruiting and initial training needs of new and expanding organizations in South Carolina. The program leverages the system across the state to provide recruiting, assessment, training development, management and implementation services. These services are state-funded and at no cost to qualifying companies. In order to qualify, an organization must be creating new jobs in South Carolina with competitive wages and benefits. Assisting over 100 companies statewide on an annual basis, readySC™ is often the key element that allows companies to start up rapidly and succeed in today’s competitive global environment.

Contact:
Morgan Harrell, Project Manager
readySC
P.O. Box 118067 RP-M
Charleston, SC 29423
(803) 553-9439 (cell)
[email protected]
www.readySC.org

SC Works

Developed by area industry leaders on the Trident Workforce Investment Board, the Trident One-Stop Career Center provides a setting where training programs can be customized to the needs of employers, job profiling services can be purchased at a reasonable price, and job screening and interviewing space can be accessed. The center also provides career counseling, job search skills and training for job seekers. Below is a list of job training programs offered by the Trident One-Stop Career Center in North Charleston. For more information, visit www.SCWorks.org.

WorkKeys

A skills-assessment system measuring real-world skills and abilities critical to job success. The program measures abilities in communication (business writing, listening, reading for information and writing), problem solving (applied mathematics, applied technology, locating information and observation) and interpersonal skills (teamwork). WorkKeys helps organizations analyze the skills needed for specific jobs and describe those skills to educators, students and job applicants.

Incumbent Worker Training

Helps employers upgrade the skills of their existing workforce. The Trident Workforce Investment Board’s Economic Development Committee funds and administers the program.

Manufacturing Certification Training Program

Run by the Lowcountry Manufacturers Council, Trident Technical College and the Trident One-Stop Career Center, this program is designed to recruit, test, select and train a better-qualified pool of potential entry-level production employees for local manufacturers. The 30-hour certification program includes instruction in applied mathematics, team skills, measuring techniques, computer basics, safety and environmental procedures, and light and heavy industrial and manufacturing technologies.

On-The-Job Training (OJT)

On-The-Job Training is designed to fulfill the needs of local employers by allowing them to train new hires while they are working and learning the job skills and information for productive and successful job performance. Employers make all the hiring decisions, tailor the training, and can be reimbursed up to 75% of the trainee’s hourly wages.

Employers also save on recruiting, screening and new employee training costs. OJT is provided for occupations with an established hourly wage. Training length is negotiable and there is no cost for OJT services.

For more information click here.

Customized Training

The Trident Workforce Investment Board invests in promoting growth within the region by using innovative and often nontraditional solutions to develop the skills of the workforce while addressing the evolving needs of local businesses.

Labor Market Information

The SC Works Trident System has the facts employers need to plan for the future. Information is available on prevailing wages, in-demand occupations, employment and income statistics, employee availability, current employment trends, economic indicators, and new workforce developments.

Recruiting and Staff Services

The SC Works Trident System can help employers advertise job openings, coordinate the application process, and schedule recruitment interviews and career fairs, as well as facilitate pre-hire and post-hire testing sessions at conveniently located centers throughout the tri-county region or at the employer’s business location.

Downsizing and Layoff Assistance

The SC Works Trident System provides job placement, retraining opportunities, and other services to help reduce the economic impact of layoffs on both the company and the community.

Rapid Response

When plant closings and layoffs become a reality, South Carolina businesses can get the help they need for affected employees through the State Dislocated Worker Unit. The State Dislocated Worker Unit (SWU) is responsible for providing “Rapid Response” assistance to employers and employees impacted by any permanent layoff or closure action affecting 50 or more workers. Rapid Response services are provided regardless of the reason for a layoff or closure (e.g., Trade impacted, company downsizing/restructuring, national disaster, plan relocation, bankruptcy, etc.)

WorkKeys Testing

WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system measuring real world skills and abilities that are critical to job success. WorkKeys assessments measure proficiency in three key areas:

Communication: Business Writing, Listening, Reading for Information, Writing

Problem Solving: Applied Mathematics, Applied Technology, Locating Information, Observation

Interpersonal Skills: Teamwork

Contact:
Seth Duncan
SC Works Charleston
1930 Hanahan Road, Suite 200
North Charleston, SC 29406
(843) 725-0306
[email protected]

Trident Technical College

Trident Technical College (TTC), with an enrollment of over 17,000 credit students, is now the second largest provider of undergraduate education in the state. The college is accredited to award associate degrees, diplomas and certificates. In addition, TTC provides hundreds of professional and skill-based courses, with total registrations for continuing education over 32,000 in 2012.  For more information, visit www.tridenttech.edu.

Contact:
Trident Technical College Information Line (843) 574-6262
or
Regina S. Lane, MT (ASCP)
Operations Manager for Continuing Education & Economic Development
Trident Technical College
(843) 574-6304 (office)
(843) 574-6470 (fax)
[email protected]

Lowcountry Garduate Center (LGC)

Created through a partnership of the College of Charleston, The Citadel and the Medical University of South Carolina, the Lowcountry Graduate Center (LGC) was developed to expand the opportunities for graduate education in the Lowcountry. Clemson University and the University of South Carolina have joined the local institutions in providing a growing number of graduate programs at the LGC.

Recognizing that increased graduate educational opportunities are a key element in the economic growth and development of the Lowcountry, the LGC works cooperatively to establish programs that meet the community’s needs and enable working professionals to grow their career.

The LGC is located within the College of Charleston North Campus in North Charleston, near the Charleston International Airport. For more information on the College of Charleston North Campus, visit http://north.cofc.edu/.

Contact:
Lowcountry Graduate Center
3800 Paramount Drive
North Charleston, SC 29405
(843) 953-4723 (office)
(843) 953-7454 (fax)

Apprenticeship Carolina

Apprenticeship Carolina™, a division of the SC Technical College System, works to ensure all employers in South Carolina have access to the information and technical assistance they need to create demand-driven registered apprenticeship programs. At no cost to the employer, apprenticeship consultants are available to guide companies through the registered apprenticeship development process from initial information to full recognition in the national Registered Apprenticeship System.

Apprenticeship Credit – Eligible businesses can receive a South Carolina tax credit of $1,000 for each registered apprentice employed for at least seven months during each year of an apprentice’s program, for up to four years of such a program.

Contact:
Brandon Spence, Apprenticeship Consultant
111 Executive Center Drive
Columbia, SC 29210
(803) 896-5341 (office)
(843) 404-0954 (fax)