HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT?
The Upstate Manufacturing Network is modeled after a type of sector partnership called a “Next Generation Sector Partnership”. There are currently approximately 100 Next Gen Sector Partnerships in a variety of different regions and industries across a national community of practice. The model achieves two important outcomes:
Co-investment by businesses in a shared industry into the biggest shared regional opportunities and most persistent issues.
Enhanced and scaled up coordination by a region’s support partner system, often made up of education and training, workforce development, economic development, and government partners responsible for supporting industry, economic, and community growth.
What Are Next Generation Sector Partnerships?
Next Generation Sector Partnerships are partnerships of businesses, from the same industry and in a shared labor market region, who work with education, workforce development, economic development and community organizations to address the workforce and other competitiveness needs of the targeted industry.
The UMN is unique to South Carolina and is a prototype for future industry leadership tables, defined as regional networks of business or employers drawn from a common industry sector who come together to network, identify common regional opportunities, and take joint action on common pre-competitive priority areas.