Business Community Releases Legislative Priorities
December 15, 2014
Annual Competitiveness Agenda focuses on infrastructure, workforce development
COLUMBIA, SC – The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the state’s unified voice of business, has released its 2015 Competitiveness Agenda, the business community’s annual list of legislative priorities. This year’s legislative agenda is focused on two vital priorities for economic development and job creation: infrastructure and workforce development.
“While there are many legislative items we will address in the coming session, this year we are heavily focused on working with our members to coalesce support around the policies of our state related to the funding and maintenance of our infrastructure and more importantly, to the long-term development of our state’s most important asset – our workforce and its future development,” said Mikee Johnson, president and CEO of Cox Industries and 2014-15 chair of the South Carolina Chamber. “The idea of ‘cradle to career’ encompasses education at all levels to optimal employment for all of our citizens. We believe the optimization of our workforce will not only be a core component of improving our infrastructure, but also the quality of life for all facets of South Carolina.”
Improving South Carolina’s Infrastructure
South Carolina’s leaders must develop and implement a comprehensive, sustainable and recurring funding plan for infrastructure. With the strong link between infrastructure, safety, job creation and economic development, long term funding must be a top priority in 2015. Investing in infrastructure is a core function of government. Building for the future will drive economic growth and job creation.
The South Carolina Chamber supports a comprehensive, sustainable and recurring funding solution, developed together and supported by the executive and legislative branches, for the state’s roads and bridges, using the priority system in place under the SC Department of Transportation for interstate expansion and improvement, secondary road maintenance and bridge repair.
Improving the Skilled Workforce Pipeline
As South Carolina continues to recover from the economic downturn, a manufacturing renaissance has led the way for new job announcements. Couple that with many experienced workers on the verge of retirement, and South Carolina is faced with a shortage of critical needs workers. Critical needs jobs are those that require more education than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree. These post-secondary education or training requirements can include associate’s degrees, vocational certificates, significant on-the-job training, previous work experience and/or some college. According to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, critical needs jobs account for 54% of the workforce while only 28% of people have the necessary skills to fill these jobs, creating a shortage of workers.
The South Carolina Chamber supports an increased focus on programs to develop a skilled workforce to support existing and new business in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s first state chamber Accredited with Distinction by the U.S. Chamber, is South Carolina’s largest statewide broad-based business and industry trade association representing more than 18,000 businesses and more than one million employees. As the unified voice for business and industry, the Chamber is a catalyst for increasing wealth and enhancing the state’s global competitiveness in order to improve the quality of life for all South Carolinians.
