Establishing improved linkages between America's workforce investment, economic development, and postsecondary education systems is crucial to the education and skills development of America's workers. With this in mind, the WDSG is partnering with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to create a Center for Workforce and Economic Development that brings community colleges, workforce boards, economic development entities, labor market intermediaries, and other community organizations together to improve the economic prosperity of business, workers, and communities. The goal of this center is to turn the best practices now evident in a number of community colleges into common practices throughout the country.
The WDSG has engaged with a variety of international and domestic postsecondary organizations, including two-year college systems, and individual colleges. We recently worked with the South Carolina Technical College System to study the feasibility of it serving as the state agency to support registered apprenticeship to help workers and employers keep pace with South Carolina's 21st century economy.