COLUMBIA, S.C. — What happens after students walk the stage and receive their diplomas?
According to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW), the state’s unemployment rate is below the national average. As high school students prepare to enter the workforce, the department says there are many job opportunities that only require a high school diploma.
“I'm going into auto mechanics. I'll be working as a full time mechanic, just doing all types of jobs on high end vehicles mainly," graduate Dylan Uptown said. "I just found it more enjoyable then going to college. There’s college options for that but I just figured I can go straight into the job.”
Uptown graduated Thursday from Dutch Fork High School. He is one of many students getting ready to enter the workforce.
“As of last week, there are 38,000 job postings for people who only have a high school diploma,” Dr. Bryan Grady said.
Grady is the assistant executive director for labor market information at the state’s Department of Employment and Workforce.
“The most recent federal data shows that we have the second highest job opening rate in America," Grady said. "South Carolina employers are eager to hire. Obviously, we have more employers who are coming here, people like Scout in Blythewood, AESC in Florence. They're going to be eager to hire people, and that means that the wages for those entry level workers, those people that are coming right out of high school, those wages are going to keep going up.”
According to SCDEW, the state’s unemployment rate is 3.2%, while the national rate is 3.9%.
“The number one organization that is looking for workers is state government itself," Grady said. "We have almost 1,500 jobs listed on careers.sc.gov, and there are plenty of others from other parts of state government.”
SCDEW says Lexington and Richland counties are among the top five counties for entry-level jobs in the state.
"They tend to be the entry level jobs that you would expect, a lot of positions for administrative assistants, stockers and fillers, a lot of people who work in factories and office settings,” Grady said.
According to Grady, SCDEW's regional workforce advisors work with students of all ages to ensure their readiness for the workforce.
"They make sure that not just high school students, but middle school students, even elementary school students are aware of the opportunities that are there in their community today. Then they know what sorts of jobs are out there, they know how to take their personal interests and make a career out of that,” Grady said.