RICHBURG, SC – The South Carolina I-77 Alliance is set to commence the Workforce Alignment phase of their Regional Workforce Study by conducting roundtable interviews on October 11-12 with key employers, technical colleges, and economic developers in the four South Carolina counties served by Interstate 77.
These interviews aim to identify gaps and challenges employers are facing, as well as critical training and skills needs, and gauge their experiences with the regional labor pool.
Working with consultants from TIP Strategies Inc., the Alliance will be readying a report that will provide actionable, in-depth information about the available and potential workforce in York, Chester, Fairfield and Richland counties. Expected to be available in early 2017, this report will provide detailed labor force information that’s now required to be competitive in business attraction and industrial recruitment.
“There’s a paradigm shift in business attraction to workforce quality as a top concern in today’s economy and for advanced manufacturing,” said Alliance President/CEO Rich Fletcher. “We want to go beyond the numbers to provide the kind of deep-dive data and on-the-ground intelligence demanded by today’s advanced manufacturers and other innovators in our new global economy. We’re doing this by providing our four economic development offices with unprecedented new information about their workforces, identifying existing issues and strengths, and making sure our targeted industries are supported by the corridor’s workforce.”
Along with insight gained in the face-to-face discussions, the project includes quantifying existing skill sets, employment, underemployment, commuting patterns, existing military personnel, and new talent that may be coming to the corridor.
The South Carolina I-77 Alliance was established in 2014 to help attract new investment, commerce and high-quality jobs to the four-county corridor between Charlotte and Columbia.
TIP Strategies has offices in Austin, Texas and Seattle, Washington and has worked with clients in 38 states and four countries in the past 20 years.
“Industrial recruitment is now so much more than simply offering census data and available sites. The knowledge and best practices we’ll gain from this engagement with TIP Strategies will help us keep up with other economic development agencies across the country who are similarly armed with this new level of workforce information,” said Christopher Finn, the Alliance’s Director of Research and Marketing.
About South Carolina I-77 Alliance:
Established by the counties’ economic development offices, the South Carolina I-77 Alliance is a nonprofit economic development organization that seeks to position and market Chester, Fairfield, Richland, and York Counties as a world-class business location to attract investment, high quality jobs, entrepreneurs, and professional talent along the I-77 corridor of South Carolina. For more information on the Alliance, contact Fletcher at (803) 789-5010 or rich.fletcher@i77alliance.com.
About TIP Strategies
TIP Strategies Inc. (TIP) is a privately held economic development consulting firm, with offices in Austin and Seattle. Established in 1995, TIP is committed to providing quality solutions for public and private sector clients. TIP has completed more than 300 engagements across 38 states and four countries. The firm’s primary focus is economic and workforce development strategic planning. In addition, TIP has experience with entrepreneurship, target industry analysis, military communities, and redevelopment. The firm’s methods establish a clear vision for economic growth. Community leaders across the country have embraced the TIP model of Talent, Innovation, and Place to achieve successful and sustainable economies. To learn more about TIP Strategies, go to www.tipstrategies.com.
