Chamber Committee Reports
MANUFACTURER’S STEERING COMMITTEE By Daniel S. Sanders, Jr, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Michelin North America, Greenville
Manufacturing continues its unprecedented expansion in South Carolina. Manufacturers and their suppliers see our state as a wonderful place to do business—a place where they can ship and receive goods through a world-class port, have easy access to multiple interstate roads, and to recruit a dependable, productive workforce.
General Active support of workforce development initiatives. Active support of infrastructure improvements including roads, natural gas, water, electrical and shipping.
To help ensure that South Carolina maintains this manufacturing growth momentum the SC Chamber’s Manufacturing Steering Committee (MSC) developed the following 2025 goals:
Strengthen SC’s right to work environment.
Specific
Advocate for the most competitive manufacturing business environment (taxes, permits, regulations).
Increase the number of high school students selecting the manufacturing career of study by 5 percent. Increase the number of high school students selecting STEM career cluster by 5 percent. Increase the number of participants obtaining manufacturing related certifications through our Technical Colleges by 10 percent. (Manufacturing related certifications include SCMC, MSSC, welding, mechatronics, TDL, machining, metalworking, automation, quality, and fabrication). Increase the number of commercial driver licenses issued by 10 percent. Increase number of college graduates in manufacturing related fields of study by 5 percent. (Manufacturing fields of study include engineering, engineering technology, computer science, math, science, transportation, and materials).
Advocate for the inclusion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the mission statements of our state’s manufacturers.
Support the growth and development of manufacturing related apprenticeships.
At the Chamber Strengthen Committee membership to ensure a broad range of manufacturing interests are represented. Increase Committee participation and engagement. Establish the Manufacturing Employee of the Year as one the premier Chamber events. Throughout 2018 the MSC will be working to identify ways and taking action to promote the achievement of these goals.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE By Ben Rex, CEO, Cyberwoven, Chair, Information Technology and Innovation Committee
The SC Chamber of Commerce has established a new committee to advance the business climate for South Carolina’s innovation and technology sectors. The Chamber’s Information Technology and Innovation Committee (ITIC) will provide a forum for incubating and accelerating concepts that strengthen South Carolina’s innovation economy and grow our innovative workforce. Furthermore, the committee will vet IT and Innovation related legislation.
22
Workforce & Jobs Report
The initial committee organizing meeting was held in November with a group of seven key stakeholders that began the process of identifying areas of IT concerns for the business community and impediments to innovation across the state. The team continues to further refine areas for potential committee work and how to best fill our committee membership (25 members). The target is to have the full committee in place and functioning by the end of the first quarter of 2018.