(Columbia, SC) The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness’ TransformSC Network is closing out the 2019 calendar year with the announcement that Calhoun County High School is the newest school to join the network. TransformSC, an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (the Council), is a statewide network of innovative public schools that work […]
(Columbia, SC) Calhoun County School District’s two elementary schools – Sandy Run K-8 and St. Matthews K-8 – are the newest additions to the TransformSC network. TransformSC, an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (the Council), is a statewide network of innovative public schools that work in collaboration with business leaders, educators, students, […]
(Columbia, SC) South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster commemorated the formal inauguration of the South Carolina Fraunhofer USA Alliance during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the state house on October 31. The Governor was joined by a German delegation that included Dr. Volker Wissing, Minister of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viniculture Rhineland Palatinate and Dr. […]
Committed to advancing South Carolina’s growth in diverse industry sectors, the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness is announcing its newest industry initiative – TechSC – designed to accelerate growth & innovation of technology and cybersecurity firms and to expand the talent pipeline in this red-hot sector. Governor Henry McMaster hailed the announcement as a next […]
(Columbia,SC) Amanda Campbell has been promoted from Communications Intern to Creative Communications Specialist for the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. In this role, she will support the Council’s marketing and communications efforts by coordinating events, creating visual media content, and assisting with overall stakeholder engagement. Amanda began working with the Council as a Communications […]
(Columbia, SC) Taylor Jackson has joined the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness as the Deputy Director of SC Logistics. Taylor brings logistics expertise to the Council after having served as an Account Manager for Kuehne + Nagel, where she managed global accounts in the Southeast territory. As the Deputy Director of SC Logistics, Taylor Jackson […]
The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (The Council), in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Commerce, and the Fraunhofer USA Center for Experimental Software Engineering CESE in Maryland announced today the establishment of the South Carolina Fraunhofer USA Alliance (SCFUSA). The Alliance is a collaborative effort to advance applied research in engineering and technology […]
SC Aerospace, an industry cluster of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (the Council) has named Don Myers, as Advisory Board Chair. Don is the Director of Aerospace Sales & Marketing at Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. where he is responsible for leading the management of their commercial aerospace unit. His primary roles include the […]
I was born and raised in the home of an educator. Teaching and educational leadership were on display daily, as my mother Lexie was my first-grade teacher, then elementary principal, middle school principal and retired as school superintendent. Her model of love and interaction with students, faculty and the community provided a strong example of […]
TransformSC, an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (the Council), has announced Anderson Mill Elementary School and the Sumter Career and Technology Center as the newest schools to join the TransformSC network. The announcement was made at the 2019 annual conference when Mike Brenan, co-chair of TransformSC and state president of BB&T, welcomed […]
(Columbia) Sue-Ann (“Susie”) Gerald Shannon has been elected to serve on the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) Board of Trustees. Susie is President & CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (the Council), a nonpartisan, business-led, nonprofit organization that drives South Carolina’s long-term economic growth by stewarding the state’s industry clusters and providing the […]
SC Aerospace, an industry cluster supported by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, has partnered with SC Biz and SCMEP to present the 2019 SC Manufacturing Conference and Expo. This two-day event will be held October 29 – 30, 2019 at the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston, SC and is expected to draw […]
For the second consecutive year, Susie Shannon, President and CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, has been recognized by Columbia Business Monthly as one of its 50 Most Influential People. This annual list honors individuals from throughout the Midlands region who have been identified as leaders in industry, government, and business. Under Susie’s leadership, […]
(Columbia) – Susie Shannon, President and CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness is one of 23 South Carolina education stakeholders invited to visit Finland’s public schools to gain insight into critical challenges in public education in South Carolina. The group includes educators, policymakers, community and business leaders, journalists and funders. Finland’s public education […]
The 2018 bus tour will visit three schools doing transformational work in the Pee Dee. Starting early (7:30), we will board the bus at the Florence Country Club and then at our first stop will see quality early childhood education at work at the Early Childhood Center at Woods Road in Florence, hear from Nancy […]
The Aerospace Futures Alliance (AFA) and the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness/SC Aerospace (the Council) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the purpose of advancing the aerospace industry across the US. The LOI will serve as the platform for exploring the creation of a national aerospace Coalition (Coalition) with the objective of […]
The 2018/2019 school year opens with the Pickens County Career and Technology Center, SC Whitmore School, and Richland County School District Two joining the TransformSC network. The two new schools and additional school district bring the statewide network to a total of 7 entire school districts and 67 schools from across the state. TransformSC is […]
Columbia, SC – On April 18, 2018, the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness’ education initiative, TransformSC, held its second project–based learning institute. Nearly 200 educators from across the state gathered at Columbia’s Spirit Communications baseball park to explore new and dynamic ways to integrate project–based learning into their classrooms. Project–based learning (PBL) is quickly becoming well-established as one of the most popular approaches to […]
Susie Shannon, President and CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, has been recognized by Columbia Business Monthly as one of its 50 Most Influential People for 2017. This annual list honors individuals from throughout the Midlands region who have been identified as leaders in industry, government, and business. As President and CEO of […]
TransformSC joined the Alliance for Excellent Education, Lexington County School District One and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 11 to host “The #GradEffect: The Economic Impact of an Increased High School Graduation Rate,” a day-long conversation around how increasing South Carolina’s high school graduation rage can boost South Carolina’s economy by creating […]
The logistics industry cluster is one of the largest in South Carolina according to a study released by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (Council). Authored by Dr. Joseph Von Nessen, the study finds that there are more than 600 logistics companies operating in the state, from transportation, to air freight providers, to warehouse […]
CHARLESTON, SC – On Wednesday, Nov. 1, SC Logistics, the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness’s logistics industry cluster intiative, welcomed more than 100 industry professionals for an in-depth look at the state’s rapidly growing and evolving logistics industry to its inaugural Tech Talk conference. The event, which took place at the Charleston Music Hall, boasted a participant […]
Results from the second year of the Riley Institute’s three-year study on project-based learning in TransformSC schools are in. The primary takeaway after Year Two is that PBL students have increased mastery of soft skills, like collaboration and perseverance, with no loss in achievement scores. Parents, students and teachers confirmed that PBL increased student engagement, application […]
Business leaders, policymakers and community leaders from across South Carolina joined TransformSC on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, for its second annual Bus Tour. Attendees spent the day touring three of TransformSC’s schools in the Upstate: Monarch Elementary School, Carolina High School and Meeting Street Academy – Spartanburg. During each visit, visitors spent time exploring classrooms, engaging with […]
63 schools now working to transform education in South Carolina TransformSC, an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, has accepted five new schools and one entire district to its statewide network of innovative schools: Brunson Dargan Elementary (Darlington), Batesburg-Leesville Elementary School (Lexington Three), Batesburg-Leesville Primary School (Lexington Three), Carolina High School (Greenville), Wando […]
SC Aerospace hosted its fall networking meeting last Monday, Oct. 9, at CU-ICAR in Greenville in conjunction with the Composites Suppliers Meeting and focused on composite applications for the aerospace and automotive industries. SC Automotive Council members also participated, as a partnership between the two organizations. Susie Shannon, president and CEO of the South Carolina Council on […]
The Council’s Director of Logistics Industry Initiatives Suzanne Dickerson will chair a panel discussion on tech and logistics on Thursday, Oct. 12 at the inaugural Automotive Packaging Summit (AutoPack) in Greenville. Additional speakers engaging in the conversation with Dickerson include: Klaus Lysdal of I-Containers; Tanner Fogle of Clemson Transport Package Testing Lab; Ben Nguku from […]
Join TransformSC for its fifth annual Spring Conference March 1 & 2, 2018! This year’s conference will focus on transforming education through data. Two keynote speakers are already lined up for the two-day program. Dr. John H. Johnson President and CEO of Edgeworth Economics, Dr. Johnson is an author, speaker, expert witness, a regular contributor […]
South Carolina was recently ranked by PwC as the 17th best state in the nation for aerospace companies. According to PwC’s latest aerospace manufacturing attractiveness rankings report, South Carolina’s relatively low set-up costs and generous tax policies make it a business-friendly location for aerospace companies. South Carolina’s more than 400 aerospace companies are responsible for 100,000 […]
The Council’s Director of Logistics Initiatives Suzanne Dickerson will moderate a panel discussion at this year’s South Carolina Automotive Council and Automotive Industry Action Group Supply Chain & Quality Conference. The panel will focus on data-driven automotive supply chain management and will take place at 1:50 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24 in Charleston. Joining Suzanne for […]
SC Aerospace Director Adrianne Beasley was featured today on South Carolina Business Review to talk about the upcoming SC Aerospace Conference and Expo Aug. 29-31 in Columbia. Beasley gave host Mike Switzer a preview of the sessions available at this year’s conference, including a session on unmanned aircraft systems and the economic benefits of using […]
TransformSC has appointed Columbia business leader Tim Arnold to the initiative’s executive committee. Arnold currently serves as President and CEO of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. He joined Colonial Life in 2011, following a 27-year career with Unum, where he held leadership roles in its Chattanooga, Tenn., Worcester, Mass., and Portland, Maine, offices. Arnold […]
Council Executive Committee Member Tecumseh “Tee” Hooper, Jr., was recently the subject of a feature article and Q & A interview in the Upstate Business Journal. Hooper, a longtime member of the Council’s executive committee, has had a very active role in South Carolina’s business community, has launched or led six different businesses over the […]
SC Aerospace and the South Carolina Department of Education visited R.B. Stall High School in North Charleston on May 18. Stall is one of five South Carolina high schools implementing an aerospace engineering curriculum this fall. One additional high school will begin offering the courses in the fall of 2018. The curriculum was developed by […]
Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation has released its annual research ranking the 25 largest states in the nation on their startup activity and small business growth. South Carolina has maintained its No. 13 startup activity ranking and has risen four spots to No. 20 in small business activity. The Index of Startup Activity evaluates states’ new […]
The Council has named Sue-Ann (“Susie”) Shannon its next president and CEO. Shannon will be joining the Council from BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, where she served as senior public policy counsel. “Susie’s background, skills and experience are a terrific match for the Council,” said Ed Sellers, chairman of the Council’s Executive Committee. “She believes in […]
South Carolina is currently experiencing a teacher shortage. But one school district thinks they’ve found a way to help get more teachers into classrooms. Greenville County Schools launched its GATE program – the Greenville Alternative Teacher Education Program – last fall. The three-year training program is designed to train people new to teaching, often those […]
Seven South Carolina cities were ranked in a recent national study of the best cities to start a business. Charleston-North Charleston ranked the highest of the seven, coming in at 82 of the 358 cities studied. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach is listed at 144, Columbia at 154, Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin at 185, Spartanburg at 277, Sumter at […]
South Carolina’s aerospace industry cluster accounts for 17,000 private sector jobs with an average total compensation rate of $71,000 per year. Greenville Technical College offers training to provide the necessary workforce through its aircraft maintenance technology program, located at the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC). Students may pursue one of three certificates, an associate’s […]
Chair of the Federal Reserve board Janet Yellen stated in a speech Tuesday that American workers could benefit from more on-the-job training, noting the success Apprenticeship Carolina has had in workforce development. “The program has led to sizable job gains at a modest cost to the state,” Yellen said, according to a transcript of her […]
Greenville Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation has launched a Manufacturing Business Incubator. The first participating companies at the site are Medical Beam Laboratories and Constructis LLC. The incubator is intended to help firms make use of the nearly $7 million in advanced manufacturing equipment and hardware at the Center for Manufacturing Innovation, collaborate with […]
Cameron steps down after three years Adrianne Beasley has been tapped to replace Deborah Cameron as director of aerospace initiatives for the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness effective March 31, 2017. After three years leading the Council’s SC Aerospace initiative, Cameron is resigning the position and relocating to Colorado. Beasley most recently served as program […]
The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce and the S.C. Department of Corrections has expanded the state’s Second Chance job training program to include the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution for women. Started in November 2014 at the Manning Reentry/Work Release Center in Columbia, the program is designed to help inmates successfully transition to employment […]
Leadership Transformational leadership at the school, district, and community level is crucial to ensure that every student graduates prepared for careers, college, and citizenship. On March 13th, 450 attendees gathered in Greenville for the fourth annual TransformSC Spring Conference which focused on that leadership. Attendees included educators from over half of the state’s school districts […]
Scott’s Branch High School, a TransformSC School in Clarendon County, hosted education officials from South Carolina, North Dakota, Washington, D.C., Mississippi, and Arkansas in February. The visit was a part of the American Youth Policy Forum’s “Advancing Equity through Deeper Learning in Rural Schools” tour. Those on the tour had the opportunity to visit classrooms […]
TransformSC’s Peggy Torrey appeared in a recent episode of SC ETV’s Carolina Classrooms focusing on college and career readiness. The panel was moderated by Lemuel Watson, former dean in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina and current Executive Director at the Center of Innovation in Higher Education. Other panelists included Sheila […]
Last week, the US Department of Defense announced the creation of the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Institute to establish the US as a leader in advanced manufacturing by increasing worker productivity, ensuring access to robotics technologies, growing crucial industries that rely on robotics technologies, and creating and sustaining American jobs. Clemson University is one of 40 […]
On March 2nd, Pamela Lackey, State President of AT&T and TransformSC Co-Chair was interviewed by Mike Switzer on South Carolina Business Review. Lackey discussed the history of TransformSC and the progress the initiative has made since it began in 2013. She stressed the importance of leadership in sustaining innovation in education. She explained that […]
Volvo wants to close the skills gap between South Carolina’s workers and the companies that want to, but can’t, hire them. The Sweden-based, Chinese-owned company is working with readySC, Trident Technical College and the South Carolina Department of Commerce to develop a curriculum outlining the training and education residents need before applying for employment with […]
South Carolina’s tourism industry grew to $20.2 billion in 2016 and generated $1.5 billion in state and local sales tax, according to S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Director Duane Parrish. These preliminary figures were released at the S.C. Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Travel in Spartanburg. Final estimates won’t be available until 2018. […]
