Laurens’ Economic Development Corporation
Laurens’ Economic Development Corporation |
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| Home | Mission | Government | Business Opportunities |
Infrastructure | Quality of Life |
Work Force |
| Low-Cost, Skilled Labor Laurens County is home to 23,000 workers. Of these, a large percentage drives outside the county to jobs elsewhere. These out-commuters comprise another untapped resource of people for new companies locating here. Both state and county one-stop training programs are available to assist companies | |||
 |  | with training or retraining of workers. Another untapped, available resource of labor is the so-called "underemployed workers." This category is comprised of those who would take better jobs if offered by new employers. More than 20 percent of those individuals have some college experience and 14 percent have a college degree. In addition, South Carolina is a Right-to-Work State, and has one of the lowest unionization, |
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Education High-quality, educational facilities and institutions provide the business community with a work force that is skilled on all levels. Our South Carolina State "Blue Ribbon" designated, county public school system is complemented by the Laurens County Higher Education Center. This 39,000 square foot facility opened in April 2002 to serve students residing in Laurens County and to provide a home to Piedmont Technical College, USC-Union and the Laurens County Adult Education organization. Students at this facility have the opportunity to take part in | work stoppage, and litigation rankings in the country. Laurens County has a unionization rate of less than one percent, lower than the state average of two percent. Contributing to this pro-business atmosphere is South Carolina's designation as a right-to-work state, enhancing the ability of employers to operate non-union sites. The Upstate maintains positive employer-employee relations by emphasizing programs and initiatives that help to mitigate any grievances through human resource and management- employee participation programs. The Upstate is also home to several labor-law firms that aid local management educational programs. | |||
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or non-credit courses in a traditional classroom setting, via satellite or two- way video. They also have access to many student services including financial aid, placement testing, career counseling, registration, and library services. Collegiate and public school officials have established relationships with corporate leaders, resulting in the creation of curricula relevant to the needs of the business community. |  | |||
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| Contact information: LaurensFirst PO Box 1247, Laurens, SC 29360 864-984-0328 – Fax: 864-984-5356 Email: Information@LaurensFirst.org SCIway - The South Carolina Information Highway |