Did you register yet for the SCCDA Fall 2024 Conference? If not, click here to register today! https://www.sccdainspires.com/event-5855947

Learn about one of our speakers Ms. Zoraido Arroyo below who has a passion for preparing Gen Z for post-secondary education and the workforce.

Happy Fall!

Fall is personally my favorite time of year for so many reasons: the welcome change in weather, the beautiful scenery of fall colors, fall festivals and the state fair, Halloween, and pulling out all my favorite boots and scarves!

Besides all the festivities we can enjoy with family and friends, fall is always the season of change. And how appropriate it is that September is South Carolina Workforce Development Month. This year's Workforce Development Month will be filled with job fairs, hiring events, workshops, training, rural outreach, conferences, and many other activities: click for more info

“Our workforce is the heart of what makes South Carolina one of the best places to live, work, and do business. Thanks to bold investments in developing our skilled talent, our communities are stronger and our state is attracting more jobs than ever before,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. “During Workforce Development Month, I encourage people and employers to learn more about the wealth of resources dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities, driving prosperity, and helping our state thrive.”

And opportunities there are plenty of! 

• South Carolina Workforce Incentive Programs: click here 

• South Carolina Workforce Development Resources : click here 

• South Carolina Youth Employment Site : click here 

• South Carolina regional job fairs: click here 

• According to the latest release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), personal income increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national percent change was 7.0 percent and South Carolina led the country with an increase of 9.5 percent: click for more info

• According to the latest South Carolina Data Trends Issue on the projected job openings from 2022-2032, 24% of job openings will require a Bachelor’s degree or higher in education, leaving approximately 76% of openings requiring no more than an Associate’s degree: click for source on page 7

• “The number of people working in South Carolina is at an all-time high, but business continues expanding, and there are thousands of jobs available for individuals looking for work. Workforce Development Month is an opportunity for DEW and partner agencies to demonstrate the programs available for jobseekers and employers to help them connect,” said DEW Executive Director William Floyd.click for full article

What does this all boil down to? OPPORTUNITY!

South Carolina has a lot to offer, which makes it easier on us career practitioners when assisting our consumers. On that note, as a part of the SCCDA family, the SCCDA board is excited to extend our first official invitation to you for the SCCDA Fall 2024 Conference! This year’s conference will spotlight experts in current generational trends within career development.

The conference will be held in person on Wednesday, November 13th from 10am-3pm in beautiful Greer, SC. This is a bustling area of South Carolina surrounded by industries like BMW, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, and the Inland Port at Greer. Just imagine all the fall colors we will see in the foothills of South Carolina! 

Reserve your spot today at: SCCDA Fall 2024 Conference Registration. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns at oursccda@gmail.com 

I am happy you are a part of the SCCDA family, and I look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Jewel Canty

SCCDA President 2024-2025

Jewel's LinkedIn

We are excited to announce the NCDA 59th Annual Poetry and Art Contest has begun!

The theme is Creating My Career Path: Embracing Change In My Journey. Participants are invited to explore creating their futures and embracing the changes that come with them.  They can explore how they overcome obstacles and adapt to new situations at home, school, work, or with friends. 

Be sure to get your entries submitted by the deadline!

Click here for the brochure and contest guidelines

Dear SCCDA Family,

I am excited to have the opportunity to serve as the SCCDA leader for the 2024-2025 year! Thank you to the SCCDA family for allowing me to continue the work of our former leaders.

Susan Bennett led the SCCDA 2023-2024 year with the mission of “Value Added”. With her leadership, SCCDA has grown in many ways, including retaining and growing membership, increasing the value of our organization to its members through members only opportunities and resources, and fostered a greater sense of community within the organization by establishing sponsorships at the Fall 2023 conference, hosting quarterly virtual chats open to the public, and launching a “Did You Know” social media campaign.

It seems only appropriate after an amazing year of growth for SCCDA that the theme of the 2024-2025 year is “Momentum”. This year my goal is that SCCDA will continue the momentum gained from adding value and move forward even stronger as South Carolina’s association for everyone who has an interest in career and workforce development!

A few objectives to build momentum in the coming year include:

1. Develop partnerships with community and business leaders

2. Grow the SCCDA social media presence to include YouTube

3. Host regional in-person networking events

The SCCDA family comprises all career development constituencies: K-12, higher education, government and community, business and industry, and private practice. By utilizing our existing membership, we can develop strong partnerships with the community, leading to more professional development opportunities, sponsorship opportunities, and member resources. 

The SCCDA technology and communication teams have worked hard to grow the SCCDA social media presence and communications to membership. This year, the teams will work together to build the SCCDA YouTube channel as another resource for members and to expand our social media presence.

Now that our society has adapted to the pandemic, I find it appropriate to remind career practitioners of the power of in-person networking! We connect and learn so much when we meet in person, and that is when we get the real human experience. SCCDA will host one quarterly meet-up in each of the 4 regions of the state (Upstate, Midlands, Pee Dee, and Lowcountry) as an opportunity to share best practices, network, and grow our membership and partnerships.

With the amazing resources, experience, membership, and talented board members already within SCCDA, I know this year will be filled with momentous momentum! I am thrilled to lead SCCDA this year to continue its mission of inspiring all career and workforce development professionals in our state! 

Jewel Canty

Warm Greetings SCCDA members and friends! I am honored and humbled to serve as the new President of South Carolina Career Development Association. I am grateful to all of our members for your trust in me to lead SCCDA through its next phase of growth and development. It would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention all the greats who came before me! Sylvie Golod led passionately getting SCCDA back up and running. Sherry Williams led strategically providing order to what Sylvie started. Aimeé Carter led us resiliently through COVID. And, Brenda Gardner led inspirationally while bringing the fire back! It’s my hope that I lead authentically. We’ve been able to accomplish great things as an organization. As we move forward, we have many exciting opportunities to expand and improve. I am committed to working with all of our members to ensure that we achieve our goals and build a stronger, more vibrant, and more impactful South Carolina Career Development Association. It is my hope that we can and will be able to enthusiastically answer, “What is the benefit of being a member of SCCDA?” If I had to choose a theme for this year, it would be, “Value Added.” We will continue to add value to our organization as well as to ourselves.   My primary goals as President are to:   1. Retain and grow our membership   2. Increase the value of our organization to our members   3. Foster a greater sense of community within our organization. To grow and retain our membership, we will expand our reach to career development professionals across the entire state of South Carolina in all constituency groups and provide resources and support to promote growth in their careers and the people they serve. To do this, we will continue to be responsive to our members' needs, offering programming and services that are relevant, accessible, and effective. Another goal is to increase the value of our organization to our members. We want to be the go-to source for career development professionals, giving knowledge, know-how, and tools necessary to be successful in our work. To achieve this, we must continually monitor the most recent developments in our industry's trends and body of knowledge, as well as ensure that the programs and services we provide are as creative and effectivve as possible.

Yet another important area of concentration is collaboration. Together, we are stronger, and by collaborating with others, we can accomplish a lot. In order to take advantage of our combined talents and accomplish our common objectives, I think we should be looking for opportunities to work together and form partnerships with groups that share our values.  Additionally, I believe that we need to foster a greater sense of community within our organization. We must continue to create opportunites for our members to communicate and form bonds with one another both offline and online. As we cross the complicated and constantly changing world of career development, we ought to be celebrating our accomplishments, disclosing our struggles, and helping one another. Finally, I want to say that I am enthusiastic about the future of our organization. I think that we are in a great position to have a big influence. Together, we can do this. I'm committed to working with all of you to accomplish our objectives and develop a South Carolina Career Development Association that is more powerful, vibrant, and interconnected. I'm eager to lead our organization as president. Susan Bennett, MHS, CCSP, GCDF Lexington One School District SCCDA President  | 2023 - 2024

2022-2023 Farewell President's Message

Hello SCCDA members and friends! If 2022-23 were a movie, it would be The Return to In-Person … starring robust meetings, lively workshops, and engaging conferences. I am so grateful for the ability to discuss and collaborate with others around the state on workforce issues, and after two years of disruption to varying degrees from COVID, the extroverted portion of me is dancing with joy. Sometimes it takes the absence of something to understand its power, and that’s been the case for me with curtailing in-person interaction with COVID. I missed the collaborating with others, casual conversations turning into action, and brainstorming better ideas.  For SCCDA, there has been equal power in this year returning to in-person. Membership has grown, we produced an in-person conference in November with excellent speakers and networking opportunities, and the virtual portion we retained – the virtual chats – served as a link in between. The fall conference at Saluda Shoals on “Navigating Mental Health in the Workplace” couldn’t have been more timely. Dr. Samer Touma’s keynote, the AbleSC session with Dori Tempio, Dr. April Scott, and Jessica Pooser with SC Vocational Rehabilitation all provided relevant presentations. And who could forget the most popular catch-phrase of the day?  In encouraging taking annual leave to promote self-care, PTO (paid time off) really stands for Prepare The Others! At our latest virtual chat in March, distinguished Toastmaster Lefford Fate spoke about “springing forward,” reminding us that we can’t fill from an empty cup. It’s a well used phrase, but what struck me was one comment: we must be a river versus a reservoir. There’s a lot more in store for 2023-24, with the leadership of our new president, Susan Bennett, and I can’t wait for the highlight reel next year! If you haven’t made SCCDA part of your preparation for the future, check us out today at https://sccda.wildapricot.org/aboutus Brenda Gardner, MPA, GCDF SC Department of Commerce SCCDA President | 2022-2023

President's Message

Hello SCCDA members and friends! While driving home, a headline from this week’s business news jerked me to attention. “Japanese “flying car’ manufacturer to enter US market with South Carolina headquarters”? For anyone who watched the Jetsons as a child, there is no doubt anymore -- we’ve arrived. Sure, Jetson gadgets have incrementally become reality: the flat screen TV, the video chat, Rosey the robotic maid – or at least the Rosey the Roomba. But a flying car? Welcome, 2023! The company bringing the “flying car” is SkyDrive, which made the announcement this month at the annual VFS eVTOL Symposium in Mesa, Arizona; it has plans to open an office in Beaufort County. Electric vehicles are gaining market share at a much quicker pace than predicted, now expected to outsell combustion engines by 2040 – just 17 years from now. In January, a company called Proterra in Greer produced its first EV, or electric vehicle battery. And just a month before, Redwood Materials a producer of anode and cathode battery components for electric vehicles, announced plans to establish operations in Berkeley County. The company’s $3.5 billion investment, which marks the largest economic development announcement in the history of South Carolina, will create 1,500 new jobs. This South Carolina campus will create a circular supply chain for electric vehicles. It’s true, South Carolina has become a launching pad for the future. What does this mean for career development and workforce professionals?  Change. And lots of it. Which means your skills are more important than ever as the career and workforce landscape morphs continuously. The advice you give clients, be they students, seniors, or anything in between, must be timely and accurate so they can make informed career decisions. That’s why associations like SCCDA are so important. We provide professional development opportunities for members to stay abreast of trends, make contacts, and network with other professionals in a range of constituencies. Our fall conferences have been packed with practical information, and our virtual chats allow you to network and stay up-to-date without traveling to yet another meeting. We’ve even offered webinar watch parties! If you haven’t made SCCDA part of your preparation for the future, check us out today at https://sccda.wildapricot.org/aboutus Brenda Gardner, MPA, GCDF SC Department of Commerce SCCDA President | 2022-2023

Hello SCCDA members and friends! Finally! There is a whiff of fall in the air, and a morning chill that surprises me every year after the unrelenting heat of summer. Besides the cooler weather, pumpkins and football, fall brings our annual professional development conference on November 9. And this year’s promises to be the best ever! We are back in person at Saluda Shoals River Center, which alone is great news after two plus years of isolation due to COVID. But our conference topic is one that resonates deeply right now: Navigating Mental Health in the Workplace. According to the Department of Labor, nearly 1 in 5 American may experience some form of mental health condition each year. In Lyra Health’s 2022 State of Workforce Mental Health, employees’ mental health is at an all-time low. “Nearly a third (31 percent) of workers surveyed said their mental health has declined over the past year—up from 24 percent at the end of 2020,” it said.

Dr. Samer Touma delivering the keynote address, “Mental Health Matters.” and surely the double meaning is intentional. Of course, we will discuss mental health matters, but with the statistics currently being experienced in the workplace, mental health matters above most else. There will also be sessions on mental health topics from AbleSC, USC, SC Thrive, and Vocational Rehabilitation. If you haven’t registered, sign up now here. Brenda Gardner, MPA, GCDF SC Department of Commerce SCCDA President | 2022-2023

Hello SCCDA members and friends! Greetings as we head into the hottest months of the year, but also the ones when many memories are made. I am humbled to serve as your SCCDA president for 2022-23, and look forward to growing the organization in numbers and in opportunities for professional development.  My first act as president will be to publicly acknowledge Aimee Carter’s service as president before me for not one, but two years. So thank you to Aimee, who carried SCCDA through with skill and heart. And she did so during an unprecedented time of uncertainty. The pandemic has been a silent shadow with all of us since 2020. But what impact did it really have on our clients, our students, and the workforce? There is anecdotal evidence in abundance, as students and adults have spent critical developmental years in the virtual environment without hands-on learning or in-person social interaction. Generation Z, in particular, seems to be disproportionately affected. According to an Indeed.com survey, 82% of Generation Z said they have never worked in an in-person office environment full time. Of that percentage, 85 percent said they worry that they are at a disadvantage when it comes to learning professional “soft skills” A new partnership between the SC Department of Commerce, SC Competes, and Tallo tackles a portion of that question with four available assessments to better identify skills gaps for long term career retention of Generation Z workforce.

The new pilot resource is available for 16- to 24-year-olds who have been negatively impacted by COVID (and really, who hasn’t?). Four assessments are available to gauge knowledge in five core professional competencies: Communication, Drive for Results, Customer Service, Adaptability and Critical Thinking. These four assessments are in: General Employability, Manufacturing Employability, IT Employability and Healthcare Employability. They take clients/students roughly 20-25 minutes and include an individualized report on where they stand in that industry and competency compared to their peers.  This tool is free until September 15, 2022. If you have clients or know of individuals in this age range, this is a great resource to dive into those skill gaps and create remedies before they enter the workforce. With efforts like these, South Carolina can surely make the most of every talent we have! To access the assessments or to learn more, please visit: corescoresc.com  Brenda Gardner, MPA, GCDF SC Department of Commerce SCCDA President | 2022-2023