How Camp Hall’s Job-Ready Workforce Makes It the Perfect Location

Training and education programs create a job-ready workforce for businesses at Camp Hall

Anytime a business is considering potential locations for a startup or expansion — and especially when the planned venture is a large one requiring a sizable workforce, such as with a manufacturing plant or a major distribution facility — the availability of skilled workers in the area is, of course, a key factor. And with a wealth of educational institutions and training programs in the surrounding region, Camp Hall boasts ready access to a highly skilled South Carolina workforce that’s available and primed to get to work.

In fact, as of early 2020, the Charleston region where Camp Hall resides offers a workforce that’s over half a million people strong — and strong population growth that’s bringing in an average of 34 new residents per day, many seeking long-term employment. Further, thanks to a range of South Carolina education programs and workforce-training programs, the region also offers a well-educated population, with 21% of residents holding a bachelor’s degree and 11% of residents holding a graduate degree or higher. And with more than 40,000 students currently enrolled in 24 universities, colleges and technical schools in the area, the steady workforce growth is set to continue, adding new and highly skilled job seekers every day.

Creating (and growing) a work-ready workforce

Here, we’ll take a deeper dive into the range of programs and institutions behind the Camp Hall region’s highly skilled and readily available workforce. Consider the following list of regional four-year institutions of higher learning, workforce and education programs, and workforce-training programs that are consistently providing a deep well of highly skilled workers in the Camp Hall area:

REGIONAL 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

• University — A leading public research institution located in Upstate South Carolina, Clemson University offers 80-plus undergraduate majors and 130 graduate degree programs across seven distinct colleges: agriculture, forestry and lifesciences; architecture, arts and humanities; business; behavioral, social and health sciences; education; engineering, computing and applied sciences; and science.

• University of South Carolina — Boasting eight campuses spread across 19 locations, the Columbia-based University of South Carolina is a top public research university offering 450-plus degree programs both on campus and online. Its numerous colleges and schools cover areas of study including arts and sciences; business; education; engineering and computing; hospitality, retail and sport management; communications; law; medicine; music; nursing; pharmacy; public health; and social work.

• Charleston Southern University — Offering more than 50 undergraduate programs and more than 15 graduate programs, Charleston Southern University is a private Southern Baptist university based in North Charleston. The many areas of study available to its 3,400-plus students include accounting, aeronautics, business, communication, computer science, criminal justice, computer science, cybersecurity, Christian studies, education, engineering, graphic design, hospitality and tourism, nursing, physical therapy, public health, technology and more.

• College of Charleston — A public liberal arts and sciences university located in the heart of historic Charleston, the College of Charleston offers a range of study areas to its 10,000-plus undergraduate and 1,000-plus graduate students. The focuses of its colleges and schools include arts; business; education, health and human performance; humanities and social sciences; languages, cultures and world affairs; and sciences and mathematics.

• The Citadel — Known for its rich history and high educational standards, The Citadel is a Charleston-based public senior military college with roughly 2,300 undergraduate students who make up the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. All undergraduate students are required to participate in ROTC, and The Citadel’s academic programs are divided among five schools: Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Mathematics. The institution awards bachelor’s degrees in 38 major programs of study, while the Citadel Graduate College offers 26 different master’s degree options and 25 types of graduate certificates.

REGIONAL WORKFORCE & EDUCATION PROGRAMS

• Regional College and Career Guide — A valuable resource for area students considering their higher-education options, the Regional College and Career Guide was developed in partnership with area school districts to serve as a handbook detailing high school programs of study and college-preparation resources, along with projections regarding which career skills are expected to be in the highest demand in the region over the coming years.

• ManuFirst SC — Originally created to help support the rapid recruitment and training of area workers hoping to take on roles at the Volvo plant located at Camp Hall, ManuFirst SC provides South Carolina residents with 62 hours of free coursework and training that lead to an entry-level advanced manufacturing certification. The program — developed via a partnership between Berkeley County, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Trident Technical College, Volvo Cars, and readySC — focuses on educating the workforce about job-critical topics such as safety, manufacturing and production processes, quality practices and measurement, maintenance awareness, and OSHA-10.

• Trident Technical College — Based in Charleston, Trident Technical College is a public community college offering 150-plus programs of study, including programs geared toward students looking to continue their higher education at at four-year colleges and beyond. The areas of study offered at the school include business; industrial and engineering technology; aeronautical studies; health care; hospitality, tourism and culinary arts; film, media and visual arts; law-related studies; community, family and child studies; humanities and social sciences; and science and mathematics.

REGIONAL WORKFORCE-TRAINING PROGRAMS

• readySC^TM Program — Created in an effort to foster economic development in South Carolina, readySC partners with South Carolina’s 16 technical colleges to provide customized and free-of-charge recruiting and training assistance to companies bringing new jobs to the state via expansion or relocation. Since the program’s beginnings in 1961, it has trained over 300,000 people, and in FY 2019-2020 alone, it served a total of 97 companies in the state.

• Apprenticeship Carolina^TM Program — Focused on creating positive economic impacts for South Carolina, its businesses and its people, Apprenticeship Carolina helps state employers create their own registered apprenticeship programs — and rewards companies that do so with a $1,000 state tax credit for each registered apprentice employee who works for at least seven months in a given year. Participating industries have included manufacturing; construction; energy and utilities; healthcare; information technology; tourism; and transportation, distribution and logistics.

• Enterprise Zone Retraining Program — By offering a tax incentive for training and educating eligible employees on new processes and/or new equipment, the Enterprise Zone Retraining Program (EZone) provides a financial boost for companies seeking to remain competitive by adding new technology and/or equipment at their facilities. With 118 different facilities and nearly 1,000 courses approved for EZone incentives since 2014, the program has seen over 400% growth in company participation in the same time period.

Located in Berkeley County, South Carolina, next-generation commerce park Camp Hall resides in a region featuring a strong and highly educated workforce, and the park itself provides all the infrastructure and conveniences needed to power the most modern of today’s businesses … as well as the businesses of tomorrow. To see all the benefits Camp Hall can provide to support your business’s needs, visit the Camp Hall website. To learn more about campus availability for your business plans, view our available sites. And if you have any questions at all about our master-planned commerce park, don’t hesitate to contact us today.