New facility to help South Carolinians fill thousands of jobs coming to state

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – In just the last few years, manufacturers have announced plans to bring billions of dollars in investment and thousands of new jobs to South Carolina.
Among them is Scout Motors, which is building a multibillion-dollar facility just north of Columbia. The company has promised to create 4,000 jobs to assemble electric trucks and SUVs, expected to begin rolling out in 2027.
The Scout Motors plant is still under construction, but pre-hire training is already underway at a former office building about 10 miles away, the new Cornerstone workforce training facility.
“It has already paid dividends in what we’re doing,” Scout Motors Vice President of Human Resources for Production Clarice Henderson said. “Our new maintenance folks are coming through and being assessed here. We’re talking about production assessments and post-hire training.”
On Thursday, Gov. Henry McMaster and state and local leaders got a firsthand look at the newly opened Cornerstone facility.
Scout Motors is the first manufacturer to occupy it, but in the future, more industry employers could train their workers there, too.
The $5 million space was paid for with contributions from Richland County, the South Carolina Technical College System, and the state. Part of the money came from the $1.3 billion incentive package the General Assembly approved in 2023 to attract Scout Motors to South Carolina.
“We’re creating and bringing in companies, but we want to make sure that our residents right here in South Carolina are ready and trained to get those jobs,” Richland County Council Chair Jesica Mackey said.
Cornerstone is part of readySC, the workforce training division of the Technical College System, and a similar center is located in the Lowcountry, where employers, including Volvo, instruct their workers.
Midlands Technical College and Trident Technical College are partners in the respective facilities.
Scout Motors said having the new Richland County facility and the partnership with readySC were critical to the company deciding to call South Carolina home over other states.
“This is what was pioneered in South Carolina. It’s been copied in other states, but never as good as what we do here in South Carolina. Having that is a great asset, and that is a big part of what brings companies to South Carolina,” South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey said.
Tim Hardee, president of the Technical College System, said readySC’s track record speaks for itself in ensuring companies recruited to come to South Carolina are hiring its residents.
“We’ve, for the last 50 years, brought projects into the state of South Carolina. On average, 97% of the jobs go to South Carolinians,” Hardee said.
State leaders said this is more than a tool to boost economic development. They called it a win for South Carolinians’ quality of life.
“We have the people. We have the ingredients. We just need a place like this to bring them in, inspire them, let them use their talents, learn these skills that are very rare in some parts of the country,” McMaster said.