SEPT. 2, 2014 — Meeting future demand for workforce talent was the topic of this week’s program. Mary Graham, senior vice president for Business Advocacy at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, shared results of a recent Charleston Region Talent Study as well as some next steps.
The study worked with existing business and industry, institutions of higher education and the school district to identify what jobs will be created in the next five years as well as the skill sets and educational attainment that will be required of those jobs. Funding partners included the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Charleston Southern University, College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina, and Trident Technical College. The study was produced by Avalanche Consulting and the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning.
It is predicted that the Charleston-Berkeley-Dorchester region will create more than 25,000 new jobs in the next five years. This is nearly seven times the growth rate of the prior five years and 50 percent faster than the US job growth rate. The occupations predicted to have the highest growth rates are:
- Industrial Production 21.4%
- Computer & Software 19.9%
- Science & Engineering 16.4%
- Sales & Marketing 13.6%
- Medical 13.4%
- Business 10.2%
When looking at the alignment of our educational system with the job forecast, our region is making strides in some areas, of note through the Lead the Way pre-engineering program in high schools. However, other growth areas such as Information Technology and Computer Programming are not getting as much focus yet are a high growth area. The challenge for the Chamber and the community is how to get business people with these skill sets into the classrooms.
In the higher education arena, Certificate programs have become more plentiful, along with Associate and Bachelor degrees. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of options at the Master’s and Doctoral levels when compared to the available jobs. For example, during the study period 17 degrees were awarded in computer program development but 179 jobs were available. Certified workers were needed.
A key component in bridging this gap is “career awareness” – helping students, parents, and guidance counselors understand the variety of jobs available that don’t require a 4-year degree but are high paying and in clean environments. Action steps from the study include: Content (curriculum development), Collaboration (i.e., apprenticeships and industry advisory input) and Communication (like the Career Awareness Campaign).
Doing their part in talent development, the Chamber has committed $400,000 from its recent Accelerate Charleston fundraising campaign toward 12 scholarships at Trident Technical College. Recipients must be first-generation college students and have a grade point average between 2.0 and 2.9 – passing, but not eligible for the state’s Lottery Scholarship.
— Submitted by Tammy Coghill, Keyway Committee