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State workforce director urges local action, outlines portal and employer steps
Summary
Rebecca Battle Bryant, director of the Office of Statewide Workforce Development, urged Beaufort County leaders to expand internships, update job descriptions and help build a statewide digital portal funded by the legislature to connect employers, jobseekers and wraparound services.
Rebecca Battle Bryant, director of the Office of Statewide Workforce Development, told Converge 2026 attendees that the office — created by Act 67 and charged with coordinating workforce efforts — will act as "high-powered project managers" and link state strategy to local action. "We don't need another agency. We need boots on the ground trying to help," she said.
Bryant said the coordinating council the office supports has grown to 38 members so the state can better align education, employers and training programs. She described two main priorities she asked the region to help deliver: a technological connection (a statewide portal for employers, jobseekers and education partners) and a focus on the human side of work — internships, coaching and retention.
The director said state lawmakers provided about $10 million last year to begin building a shared portal. She described pilot work with a FutureFinder AI experiment and said the early tests showed young people often find opportunities through social media: "Seventy‑five percent of the kids that signed up for our experiment found us on social media, not through normal ads."
Bryant highlighted several structural barriers she said reduce participation in the workforce: inaccessible child care, unreliable transportation and the persistent effects of generational poverty. She warned local leaders that "20 percent of your high school graduates every year disappear," explaining that the students do not show up on college enrollment or state wage records and must be reached with jobs and training before they fall out of the pipeline.
Her practical asks to employers included paid internships, clearer career pathways with measurable skills, and revising job descriptions to emphasize skills rather than automatically requiring four‑year degrees. On hiring technology she advised employers to check applicant‑tracking filters and respond promptly to applicants so qualified candidates are not inadvertently excluded.
Bryant closed by urging local business leaders and education partners to participate in the coordinating council's public meetings, use the state's resources and pilot tools locally, and help scale successful practices across South Carolina.
