Greenville Leader

Workforce Scholarships for the Future will use a $17 million grant to provide scholarships for students enrolled in high-demand career programs at other technical colleges across the state, including Greenville Technical College, the institution announced recently.

The program is part of Gov. Henry McMaster's initiative on improving the labor shortage in South Carolina by providing students an opportunity to develop skills for jobs that require short-term training.

“These jobs provide South Carolina students with the opportunity to work toward rewarding careers in fast-growing, dynamic, relatively high paying industries,” Dr. Laura Dawson Ullrich, regional economist, research/regional and community analysis with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Charlotte Branch, said in the release. “This benefits the students, employers, and 16 technical colleges across the state.”

South Carolina residents interested in manufacturing, health care, computer science and information technology, transportation distribution and logistics, or construction could get their entire tuition and fees paid for. The Workforce Scholarship for the Future is applied after all other scholarships or grants.

Students must hold a high school diploma or be age 18 and over and meet the requirements to be eligible for the program, which goes into effect on Jan. 1. 

Recipients of a scholarship must maintain a 2.0 GPA and either maintain employment, take a financial literacy course or complete 100 hours of voluntary time to a nonprofit or public-service organization.

“This initiative falls directly in line with our mission of transforming students’ lives and helping the community thrive through education," Dr. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College, said in the release. "We are pleased to see that the governor has found a way to continue moving South Carolina forward, and we know that this funding will enable students to gain needed skills that will help our families, businesses, and economy thrive.”