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.
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!