SC@Work: Rural Connections events started as SC@Work: Road Trips in 2023. The road trips were small job fairs and community events in the most rural pockets of our great state which took place in 2023 at 24 different locations across 17 counties, with over 700 jobseekers in attendance and 600 follow-up interviews. Phase two of our rural initiative is called Rural Connections! These job fairs aim to be more frequent, bigger, and better!

SC@Work: Rural Connections events are targeting jobseekers with barriers to employment, such as transportation, which prevent them from accessing regional workforce development services. These events can include festivals and community events. For instance, a jobseeker can attend this event and network directly with employers, submit applications and work on their resume in DEW’s Career Coach, talk to community providers, and more. Instead of people in rural communities having to commute for 40 minutes to a job fair, we are bringing the job fairs right to their backdoor!

The state-of-the-art Career Coach mobile unit will be present at certain events, which is a traveling SC Works center that is wheelchair accessible, has 10 workstations for job-seeking activities, provides wi-fi and printer capabilities, and has staff available to assist users. It is an extension of the services provided through SC Works Centers across the state. SC@Work: Rural Connections is part of an ongoing rural initiative to make DEW and SC Works services accessible to jobseekers in rural and underserved areas.

Attend upcoming Rural Connections events in your area!

Click on the Event links to download flyers and spread the word!