Career Cluster Partnership Program Competitive Grant

The Career Cluster Partnership Program Competitive Grant, funded by the South Carolina Department of Education, aims to enhance career and technical education across various industries, including automotive, healthcare, and construction. With a minimum funding of $150,000, this initiative seeks to train instructors and students, ultimately boosting the state's skilled workforce. This competitive grant prioritizes applications that demonstrate quality and relevance to the state’s workforce needs.

Description
The South Carolina General Assembly has provided funds to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) through a legislative proviso (2025–26 General Appropriations Act, Proviso 1A.28) for one year to award grants on a competitive basis to private-sector statewide trade associations that provide nationally certified programs in career and technical education representing the automotive, construction, engineering, healthcare, mechanical contracting/construction, and hospitality and tourism career clusters. The purpose of this program is to support instructor/student training and student testing in industry clusters to increase the state’s skilled workforce.
Funding Detail
The SCDE will award at least one grant of a minimum of $150,000, exclusively for career and technical education (CTE), in at least four of the specified career clusters. Additional awards will depend on the quality of applications.