PRESS RELEASE
South Carolina Office of the Governor
David M. Beasley - Governor
For Immediate Release:  October 21, 1998
Contact:  Gary Karr (803) 734-9840
 
 GOVERNOR PROMOTES TECHNOLOGY

(Columbia) -- Governor David M. Beasley today said technology will be the key continuing South Carolina’s current economic boom.
“We need long-term staying power in the global economy. So my new nigh-tech program is designed to improve our economic climate for high-tech business builders and train our work force for the jobs of the future,” the Governor said today in a speech before the Software Developers Association of the Midlands.
Two weeks ago, the Governor outlined four major goals for the development of the high-tech industry in South Carolina. Governor Beasley reiterated those goals today: training workers for high-tech jobs in a program styled after “Special Schools;” targeting federal, state and local dollars to help universities develop a high-tech workforce; align higher education and training programs; and change tax policies to lure and grow high-tech industry.
This plan will “make South Carolina a truly cyber-friendly state,” Governor Beasley said.
Software employment is multiplying by more than 7 percent per year in South Carolina, three times faster than overall job growth the last three years. Software jobs pay an average of more than $40,000 a year.
“High-tech is high wage, and we want more of it,” the Governor said.
Recruiting and growing high-tech industry is a key component of the Governor’s vision for South Carolina as the 21st century approaches. Governor Beasley is also focused on tax cuts – to build on the $1 billion in tax cuts over the last four years, the Governor wants to abolish car taxes – and he also wants a stronger emphasis on high standards for teachers.

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Note: A copy of the Governor’s remarks accompanies this release. Broadcasters can obtain an actuality from PressBox.

Remarks By Governor David M. Beasley
Software Developers Association Luncheon
October 21, 1998
Note:  The Governor sometimes deviates from text.

Thank you Dan.  And thanks to all of you for being a part of an industry that’s starting to pick up speed across the Midlands.
There’s a lot going on in South Carolina software these days. And if Tom Persons and I have anything to do with it, this room will be bursting at the seams next year.  We want you to be so overrun, you have to start holding meetings at the Coliseum!
That’s the kind of growth we want to see in your industry…for a lot of reasons.
First , you give our state a good name.  You bring incredible innovation to our products.  You create unlimited opportunities for our workforce.
And without question:  you are the future of where South Carolina wants and needs to go…and that’s a new century full of promise and prosperity.
NCR, PMSC, SCT, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, SCANA, Intel…the names represented in this room have been the anchors—large and small –that have given high-tech industry a foothold in South Carolina.
From your ranks, software employment is multiplying by more than 7 percent a year.  That’s three times higher than total job growth for our state these last three years.  And your salaries are averaging more than $40,000 a year.
High tech is high wage…and we want more of it!
But we’re just at the start of all the software industry can become in South Carolina.  We’ve got to work hard to bring in high tech businesses to support you and create a momentum that others will want to be a part of.
Thankfully, with a lot of teamwork, we’ve reached the point in this economy where we’re ready to move to that next level.
There have been tough times to overcome first – base closure, textile mills boarding up, the SRS shut-down – but our team has worked to bring out the best in this state. We knew that our best could compete with the best any state has to offer..
So these three years, we focused on shoring up our manufacturing base and recruiting high-wage companies…and we’ve rewritten the record books in the process.
Now we’re number one in the nation in job creation.
We’re number one in the nation in personal income growth
And the Wall Street Journal just wrote that we’re “firing on all cylinders at a time when others are beginning to sputter.”
We did it by cutting taxes for every household by hundreds of dollars….and that money has flooded back into our economy.
We got tough on crime…especially repeat offenders…and violent crime started dropping for the first time in years.
We trained welfare mothers for work instead of writing them a check.  Now poverty is the lowest its ever been…lower even than the national average.
We pushed for tough new standards in our schools…and now we want to put a computer in every classroom!
That’s a lot of change, but it’s based on where we’ve been…who we are… and what we want to be.
And it’s given us a firm foundation for the future.  But there’s more to be done…so in my next term, I’ll focus on three areas: tax cuts, teaching, and technology.
I want to keep up the fight for smaller government and bigger take-home pay.  So my goal in a second term will be to abolish the car tax.
In teaching, I want South Carolina to set high standards….and exceed them.
If we’re to expect more from students and principals…we’ve got to hold teachers to a higher standard too.  Your jobs demand nothing less.
And that brings me to my third goal…and that’s technology.
The Wall Street Journal may have said this economy is “on fire…” but that doesn’t mean the fire will always burn bright.
We need long-term staying power in the global economy.  So my new high-tech program is designed to improve our economic climate for high-tech business builders…and train our work force for the jobs of the future.
I’m well aware – because so many of you have told me – of the superhuman lengths your companies are taking just to get good workers.
Too many of you have had to expand and recruit outside of our borders. Even so, about 7 to 8 percent of software jobs are still going unfilled.
Right now, I understand that there are 5,000 information technology openings just in the Midlands—and as many as 15,000 statewide -- simply because you can’t find strong workers yet to do the job.
I say “yet” – because first of all, this directory I hold in my hands…put together by the Department of Commerce…will be a great resource and marketing tool for you.
But beyond this book, we have a plan -- unveiled a couple of weeks ago -- to address your labor crunch and make South Carolina a truly cyber-friendly state.
Tom will give you more details, but the crux is this:  My Technology Advisory Council, headed by Larry Druffel and made up of business and education leaders, just gave us their strategy for technology business development.
Now their work is done…and Tom’s group, the Technology Alliance, will be the mechanism for setting that plan in motion.
We’re going to put technology recruitment and workforce readiness on the front burner.  And we are going to push through a sweeping Technology Act of 1999.
While it’s very much a work in progress, the #1 focus of our Technology Act will be workforce training.
I want South Carolina to do for technology workers what we do so well for production workers.
With our Special Schools program, South Carolina leads the nation when it comes to training entry-level workers.  We get them up to speed and down to work quickly and efficiently.
We want to create a similar program focusing on high tech industry and advanced skills.  And it should involve both the technical colleges – where the Special Schools program exists – and our universities.
Meanwhile, we know that the competition for building a base of home-grown high-tech companies is fierce.  Rich Cannon of Renaissance and Jeff McElroy of Conita are two amazing examples that it can be done.
Now we just want to make it easier.
Our second step then is to invest in world-class university research programs…but ones that are linked to real-world issues and business development.
The Alliance is working to line up industry dollars and federal funding in this area…and I’m committed to find money for a state match when those funds come in.
Also on the radar screen are the issues of venture capital and incubation centers—and the Alliance will be considering those areas as well.
Third, we must have a business climate that’s in tune with your needs.
I’ve asked the Departments of Revenue and Commerce to work with the Alliance on how to revise our tax policies to help companies like yours grow and start up here.
And last but not least, it’s been our battle call for a long long time:  we must have a higher ed system that’s on board with where we’re going.
Thankfully, we’re starting to see some progress in that area.
PMSC just built a training facility for software developers on its Blythewood campus, and Midlands Tech is staffing it.
The USC College of Engineering and Midlands Tech have also developed a program…making it easier for tech grads to transition into a 4-year engineering school.
Slowly but surely, we’re seeing positive steps being taken to align what our colleges and universities are teaching with what you need.
And I pledge to keep fighting for economic growth that gets results…more jobs and better pay…work that is challenging and rewarding in every corner of this state.
I’m hoping that in two weeks, the people of South Carolina will give me the green light to keep building on the progress we’ve made…so we can move forward on the issues of tax cuts, teaching, and most importantly for you…technology.
These are the paths to progress.  I’m convinced that if we stay the course and focus our energies, South Carolina will become the envy of other states and the entire world…thanks to your hard work and boundless vision for all South Carolina can be.
You’re the best we’ve got in this state.  So go tell your friends about South Carolina…and let’s get out there and start filling those jobs!

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