SOUTH CAROLINA, USA — South Carolina officials are working to get more people off unemployment and back in the workforce.
Governor Henry McMaster announced a cash incentive for the Palmetto State's technical colleges. McMaster is allocating $8 million in federal coronavirus relief aid to a partnership between the state's 16 tech schools and the Department of Employment and Workforce.
“Through the power of our technical colleges we have an opportunity to jump ahead ten years through education,” Governor Henry McMaster said. “We have the culture and people who are ready to take the next step forward and we just need to get them trained and ready for work.”
The goal with this initiative is to give people training for new skills as they re-enter the workforce.
Starting this week, the agency will contact the 87,000 South Carolinians currently eligible for jobless benefits. The agency plans to advise those on the receiving end of the phone call to enroll in tuition-free, short-term training classes for jobs like welding and truck driving.
A big reason for this is also to help industries across the Carolinas who have been struggling with worker shortages. Plus, South Carolina is ending federal unemployment benefits at the end of the month.
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