CCSD, MUSC, and TTC team up to expand healthcare career opportunities for students

Charleston County School District (CCSD) announced a partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Trident Technical College (TTC) that will expand opportunities for Charleston area students to explore and become certified in health sciences careers. The pathways program will start at Burke High School in the fall of 2023.

This new partnership creates career readiness pathways for students while supporting community development and workforce engagement to address shortages in a plethora of critical roles in health care, including but not limited to phlebotomists and certified nursing assistants, registered nurses, and physicians.

According to the October 2020 MUSC Economic Outlook Study, healthcare is one of the economy’s largest industries at the state and national levels. In South Carolina, health care is a $14 billion industry that comprises nearly seven percent of the state’s economy. The demand for healthcare-related services has increased over the early 21st century, primarily due to the aging U.S. population and the retirement of older generations from the workforce.

As a result, there is a greater need for healthcare workers across various occupations, which occupy nearly 8.5 percent of the workforce and represent almost two-thirds of the top 30 occupations projected to grow the fastest through 2026. Rising demand for services has also correlated with a rising demand in postsecondary education, which nearly 65 percent of jobs across the country require in some form, according to recent estimates. This partnership seeks to foster entry to post-secondary programs at an early level for CCSD students in the field of healthcare services. It enhances student experiences and future earning potential.