South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced earlier this week an additional $25 million investment into the Workforce Scholarships for the Future, a program that provides scholarships to cover the cost of tuition and required fees at any of South Carolina’s 16 technical colleges for any adult or recent high school graduate to pursue an industry credential or associate degree in high-demand career fields like manufacturing, health care, computer science or logistics.
“With over 64,000 jobs created in just the last five years, South Carolina has experienced record-breaking economic growth,” said McMaster in a news release. “To continue to attract more jobs and investment to South Carolina, we must invest in our people to make sure we can meet the ever-changing needs of our business community. Workforce Scholarships for the Future will help provide our people with good-paying jobs and our companies with the skilled workforce they need to succeed. We are ensuring that South Carolina’s economic success will continue for generations, and that South Carolina families will be the ones benefitting from it.”
MORE: Fifth Street pedestrian bridge opening delayed
In early 2021, McMaster invested $12 million in GEER (Governors Emergency Education Relief) Funds in the S.C. Technical College System to train South Carolinians for the available, high-demand jobs in the state.
“By the end of the year, the program yielded staggering results, with 5,000 South Carolinians being reskilled and employed,” the news release said.
Based on its success, McMaster formally created Workforce Scholarships for the Future in November 2021. The $25 million investment, combined with $39 million allocated by the General Assembly in this year’s state budget, is expected to be used to train or retrain approximately 40,000 South Carolinians, the news release said.
To date, 6,198 South Carolinians have been trained through this program, including:
- 825 Nursing Assistants
- 775 Commercial Drivers
- 616 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)
- 478 Welders
- 392 Phlebotomists
- 208 Forklift Operators
- 107 Electrical Lineman Technicians
- 87 ManuFirst SC
