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State workforce director urges local partners to expand internships, update hiring and back a statewide talent portal
Summary
Rebecca Battle Bryant, director of South Carolina''s Office of Statewide Workforce Development, urged Beaufort County leaders to promote paid internships, revise job descriptions and support a digitized talent portal funded with roughly $10 million from the state to reduce a reported 20% annual "disappearance" of local high-school graduates.
Rebecca Battle Bryant, director of the Office of Statewide Workforce Development, told Converge 2026 attendees that the office created under Act 67 (2023) and its expanded 38-member coordinating council exist to align workforce training, education and employers across the state.
"We operate under a unified state plan," Battle Bryant said, and noted the legislature provided "about $10,000,000 last year to start the building of" a statewide digital talent portal that will let employers, job seekers and educators connect. She said the portal will be built in stages and a bridge website and experiments (including AI-assisted Future Finder) are already under way.
Why it matters: Battle Bryant pointed to data showing continuing leaks in the local talent pipeline. "Twenty percent of your…
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