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.

Program Office

Office of Career Readiness

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are private-sector statewide trade associations or educational foundations that fall under IRS code 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) and provide nationally certified programs in career and technical education representing the automotive, construction, engineering, healthcare, mechanical contracting/construction, and hospitality and tourism career clusters. Applicants may partner with trade organizations, corporations, or others to develop strong programs that provide direct support to students to further industry-specific career and technical education programs. Applicants must have an active Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in SAM.gov.

Total Funding Available

Approximately $800,000

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.

Project Term

September 16, 2025, to June 30, 2026

Application Due Date

July 31, 2025

Technical Assistance Session

The SCDE’s Office of Career Readiness presented a pre-application technical assistance webinar on July 10, 2025. Email tldorsey@ed.sc.gov to access the recording.

Documents

Request for Proposals (DOCX, 946kb - 6/12/2025)
Online Application
Budget Narrative Template (XLSX, 18.6kb - 6/12/2025)

Program Web Page

Career and Technical Education