In The News

SCBIO, Schools prepare to Launch Industry Curriculum Plan

South Carolina’s life science sector creates twice as many jobs as the average of all other sectors in the state economy, according to a recent study, but whether it can fill those positions is another matter — especially in the manufacturing and logistics side of the house.

“It has historically been the majority of the time that you find a qualified person, they already have a job in M&L (manufacturing and logistics), so it has really been tough to fill the need,” said Josh Turner, a sales executive for Modjoul, a health-focused data analytics company that serves the manufacturing sector. Turner is also a former staffing professional.

He added that staffing companies pre-pandemic were filling positions with available people even if they weren’t trained or had any experience in the field.

“All I’ve heard since the pandemic is [that] it has been hard to even find available people, much less available and qualified people,” he said.

This gap is even more prominent in a life science field that sometimes requires more than the standard specialization or training. And to add insult to injury, few in-school training programs target this unique brand of manufacturing and logistics, said SCBIO interim CEO Erin Ford.

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