In 2003, Community Partnerships for Adult Learning (C-PAL) researchers visited the United Way of the Midlands in Columbia, S.C., to profile the Midlands Literacy Initiative (MLI) and its partnerships with businesses and other organizations. The MLI was a business-driven initiative sponsored by the United Way that brought together adult education providers, businesses, workforce development agencies, colleges, and other partners to serve the literacy needs of the region.  At the time, local businesses, including Honeywell International, Palmetto Health Alliance, Bose Corp., and Richtex Brick, actively supported the work of the MLI. They helped design a workplace skills curriculum, hosted job-training programs, and served on the MLI’s board. Now, four years later, Midlands businesses remain active in education and literacy initiatives, but their focus is on influencing state policy.  Businesses played a key role in developing the state’s Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA), enacted in 2005, and they now help oversee its implementation.

Lessons Learned

"When we started the MLI, it was initially discussed [as] a program. I said, 'I don’t do programs. I do initiatives.' Programs never sunset. We always knew the MLI would sunset somewhere in the future."
—Robbie Barnett, Associate Vice President, Work Force/Education Policy, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce

By the time the MLI “sunsetted,” many of its key board members had moved into state leadership positions.  For example, Robbie Barnett, formerly of Honeywell, retired from his position and took a new job at the state Chamber of Commerce. Another former board member became the state director of adult education, and others took leadership positions in the South Carolina Technical College System and South Carolina Department of Commerce. With their MLI experience behind them, these business leaders are now strategically positioned to affect education policy. As Barnett acknowledges, “We realized that we needed to take these things to scale within South Carolina, not just within the Midlands.” Around the same time, the United Way of the Midlands reorganized, keeping a focus on education and workforce development through the creation of the Education, Jobs & Life Skills (EJLS) committee.  In the Midlands, business involvement in adult education was able to evolve from local partnerships supporting workplace training programs to state-level advocacy and policy work. 

One motivation for business interest in state policy was the chance to improve the graduation rate and the quality of the state’s workforce. Businesses participated in every stage of developing the EEDA and served on a state education and workforce task force. The legislation created regional education centers, which connect students and adults with career resources, and other programs in high schools to introduce students to careers. The next phase of the legislation will likely address adult education more directly. 

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce has taken a lead role in the implementation of the EEDA, making sure that business is represented. As part of this process, the chamber meets with local chambers and their members and educates them about the law’s timeline and goals.

Benefits

Benefits to Business

"South Carolina businesses have difficulty finding employees with the basic skills needed to be successful in the 21st-century workplace. It was easy to enlist their support for the MLI."
—Robbie Barnett, Associate Vice President, Work Force/Education Policy, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce

Some benefits to businesses of their involvement in state policy include:

• Higher visibility in the state;
• Assistance with worker training and education needs;
• Improvement of the quality of the local labor force; and
• Greater expertise in literacy issues.

Benefits to the State

Some benefits to the state of business involvement in policy include:

• Support for the well-being and economic development of the state;
• Improvement of the quality of the local labor force;
• Information on the needs and concerns of local businesses;
• Access to business expertise and guidance;
• Greater community awareness of adult literacy programs and issues;
• Increased opportunities for students to prepare for college and careers; and
• Decreased number of adults who need assistance from the public sector.

The following resource has been compiled for further reading on topics related to business-adult education partnerships. A pop-up window with a link to and description of the resource will appear as you click on the title. Resources may be categorized below as: Business Partnerships (descriptions of the business-adult education partnerships referenced above); Partnership Profiles (related examples of other community partnerships); How-Tos (guides and tools for establishing partnerships); Research; the Case for Business Involvement; and Web Sites. A complete list of resources related to business-adult education partnerships is found in the Workforce Issues section on the C-PAL Web site.

Partnership Profiles

Midlands Literacy Initiative
Community Partnerships for Adult Learning (C-PAL) Partnership Profiles

Kathy Olson
Executive Director, Education, Jobs, & Life Skills
United Way of the Midlands
1800 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-733-5412
E-mail: kolson[at]uway.org

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