Paging The Next Generation of Nurses

South Carolina faces a lot of the same workforce challenges other states across the country are feeling. Nursing is an example. South Carolina is projected to have 3,070 registered nurse openings per year through 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But what makes the Midlands of the Palmetto State different is our partnerships between local high schools, employers, chamber of commerce's, and Midlands Technical College to address the shortage. 

On August 14, 2024, the Midlands Youth Apprenticeship Program was relaunched with the signing of six new high school juniors. These students will work as pre-nursing apprentices at Prisma Health in Columbia, South Carolina spending their last two years in high school, gaining on-the-job training. They will balance both high school and college coursework, the complexity of a busy hospital environment to better equip them in a career field they want to pursue, all while getting paid. 

Not every high school student is ready for the challenge of a youth apprenticeship. For those that are, they will graduate high school with a massive head start on their career. They will have earned 24 to 30 hours of college credit, all at zero cost to them or their family, saving upwards of $6,000. 

At MTC, we believe the best service we can provide to our community is to better equip our students to meet critical, in-demand skills to address needs from our local employers. The Midlands Youth Apprenticeship Program is a bold strategy to fill that pipeline while retaining our best talent here in the Midlands. 

We aren’t stopping with Prisma Health. The college hopes to continue to work with local employers, occupations, school districts to grow these types of opportunities. If you or your company is interested in receiving additional information about a youth apprenticeship program, contact our Business Solutions Team at businesssolutions@midlandstech.edu or 803.691.3907.

Jeremy Catoe is MTC's Lead Business Solutions Director. He can be reached at catoej@midlandstech.edu or 803.691.3881. You can learn about MTC's Nursing program by visiting the School of Health Care page.