South Carolina’s life sciences industry contributes $20.1 billion annually to the state’s economy, supports more than 63,000 jobs and generates $5.4 billion in annual labor income.
Those numbers show how much the industry has grown in the Palmetto State, but raise an increasingly pressing question: where will the people needed to support this growth come from?
That’s exactly why SCbio, the leader of South Carolina’s life sciences ecosystem, is focused on strengthening that growth through workforce development and building the talent pipeline needed to sustain it.
Meeting the needs of a growing industry requires more than filling open positions. It requires a connected strategy: introducing students to the industry earlier, giving them opportunities to apply what they learn, helping them build relationships with employers and ensuring education continues to reflect how the industry is shaping.
1. Introducing Life Sciences Careers Earlier
A lasting talent pipeline takes time to build, especially in life sciences, where many roles require specialized education, technical skills and training before someone is ready to enter the workforce. Although these skills can be complex, the first step is straightforward: awareness.
While life sciences is gaining traction in South Carolina, many students remain unaware of the opportunities available in the sector, such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics or laboratory operations.
That’s the gap SCbio set out to address with Rad Lab, powered by Skillionaire Games. Already used by students in all 46 counties in South Carolina, the game is geo-fixed, allowing students to explore real STEM careers and discover companies operating in their own communities.
“Young people cannot pursue careers they do not know exist or pathways they do not know how to navigate. Through our partnership with SCbio, Rad Lab combines the engagement and scale of video games to help students discover the life sciences industry, explore careers, practice on-the-job skills and connect directly to local education and career pathways. Nearly 8,000 students across all 46 South Carolina counties have engaged in play; after just 10 minutes, 80% report understanding the industry and its careers, and with continued gameplay, reported interest in pursuing a life sciences career increased by 83%,” said Tina Zwoliinski, CEO and founder of skillsgapp // Skillionaire Games.
The significance goes beyond awareness of a single industry, though. Students can’t prepare for careers they don’t know exist, and employers can’t expect a future supply of talent if those career paths remain largely invisible until college or graduation.
Rad Lab moves that introduction earlier, giving students more time to explore the ecosystem and make informed choices about the education and training they may need.
2. Turning Interest into Practical Experience
Building interest is the first step. Students need opportunities to apply what they are learning and develop a clearer sense of what working in the industry involves.
Blythewood High School’s Bengal Biodiesel initiative is one example. Students produce sustainable biodiesel fuel while gaining hands-on experience with laboratory operations, analytical thinking, quality control and problem-solving, all of which apply to life sciences careers.
Just as importantly, the program helps students understand workplace expectations, including following processes, evaluating results, working through challenges and developing professional skills employers deem essential.
Together, Rad Lab and hands-on learning experiences help students move beyond simply learning about life sciences careers and begin preparing for them, so by the time they enter college or the workforce, they have a stronger understanding of how classroom knowledge applies in practice.
3. Creating a Clearer Path into the Industry
Hands-on experience can help students prepare for careers in life sciences. However, they also need opportunities to understand where those skills can take them and start building relationships with the companies that may eventually hire them.
SCbio is helping build those connections through its regional Academia + Industry: Bridging the Gap event, where college students meet directly with life sciences professionals, explore career paths across the state and gain a clearer picture of how their education could translate into a role after graduation.
For Clemson University’s bioengineering Ph.D. graduate, Kylie King, an SCbio connection led to a job. After participating in the annual Life + Science conference and an Academia + Industry event, she connected with Poly-Med, a Greenville-based biomaterials company, and later accepted a full-time position following graduation.
King’s experience shows how direct access to employers can make the path from education to employment more direct. SCbio is helping to create more of those opportunities through internships facilitated by the SCbio Foundation, which gives students a chance to gain experience at a life sciences company while helping employers connect with potential hires.
4. Keeping Education and Industry Connected
Programs like Rad Lab, Bengal Biodiesel and Academia + Industry can each strengthen a different part of the talent pipeline. But for that work to have a lasting impact, employers, educators, workforce organizations and state leaders also need a shared understanding of where the industry is headed and what it will require next.
That’s the role of SCbio’s Workforce Taskforce, which brings employers and academic partners together to discuss where hiring needs are changing, what skills are becoming more important, and how education or training programs can evolve as needed.
Those conversations give educators a clearer view of what companies are seeing in the workforce, while giving employers a more direct role in preparing future talent. They also create an opportunity to identify gaps earlier, before companies struggle to fill positions or programs fall behind industry needs.
Building the Workforce Behind the Growth
South Carolina’s life sciences industry has grown rapidly, but maintaining that momentum will require continued investment from across the entire talent pipeline.
That work starts by helping students see careers they may not have known were available. It continues by giving them practical experience, introducing them to employers and ensuring education and training programs are connected to what companies actually need.
When those pieces come together, the impact is felt across the state. Students have more ways to build meaningful careers in the state. Companies have access to the talent they need to grow. And South Carolina becomes an even stronger place for life sciences organizations to invest, expand and develop products that can improve patient lives.