SC@Work: Rural Connections events are a continuation of our SC@Work: Road Trips last year. The road trips were small job fairs and community events in the most rural pockets of our great state. Those job fairs took place in 2023 at 24 different locations across 17 counties, with over 700 jobseekers in attendance and 600 follow-up interviews. Now it's time for phase two of our rural initiative: Rural Connections! These job fairs aim to be more frequent, bigger, and better!

SC@Work: Rural Connections events are targeting jobseekers with barriers to employment, such as transportation, which prevent them from accessing regional workforce development services. These events can include festivals and community events. For instance, a jobseeker can attend this event and network directly with employers, submit applications and work on their resume in DEW’s Career Coach, talk to community providers, and more. Instead of people in rural communities having to commute for 40 minutes to a job fair, we are bringing the job fairs right to their backdoor!

The state-of-the-art Career Coach mobile unit will be present at certain events, which is a traveling SC Works center that is wheelchair accessible, has 10 workstations for job-seeking activities, provides wi-fi and printer capabilities, and has staff available to assist users. It is an extension of the services provided through SC Works Centers across the state. SC@Work: Rural Connections is part of an ongoing rural initiative to make DEW and SC Works services accessible to jobseekers in rural and underserved areas.

Attend upcoming Rural Connections events in your area!

Date	Time	Event	Place	Address
Thursday, July 31, 2025	10AM - 12:30PM	Job and Resource Fair	Abbeville County Library	1407 N Main St., Abbeville, SC 29620
Saturday, August 2, 2025	9AM - 12PM	Back to School Bash	Colleton County High School	150 Cougar Nation Dr., Walterboro, SC 29488
Tuesday, August 5, 2025	5PM - 7PM	National Night Out 2025	Yemassee Municipal Complex	101 Town Cir., Yemassee, SC 29945
Tuesday, August 5, 2025	5:30	National Night Out Celebration and Back-to-School Bash	Lake Warren	1079 Lake Warren Rd., Hampton, SC 29924
Friday, August 8, 2025	11AM - 2PM	Darlington Job Fair	Pine Recreation Center	310 Jessamine St., Darlington, SC 29532
Saturday, August 9, 2025	11AM - 1PM	Back to School Bash	Hampton County High School Gym	115 Airport Rd., Varnville, SC 29924
Tuesday, August 12, 2025	10AM - 3PM	Department of Corrections Hiring Event	Erskine College	2 Washington St., Due West, SC 29639
Wednesday, August 13, 2025	10AM - 11AM	Free Expungement Clinic	Laurens County Library	1017 West Main St., Laurens, SC 29360
Wednesday, August 13, 2025	11AM - 1PM	Community Kitchen of Myrtle Beach Resource Fair	The Community Kitchen	1411 Mr. Joe White Ave., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Wednesday, August 13, 2025	2PM - 3PM	Free Expungement Clinic	Greenwood County Library	600 South Main St., Greenwood, SC 29646
Thursday, August 14, 2025	10AM - 3PM	Department of Corrections Hiring Event	Abbeville County Library	1407 N Main St., Abbeville, SC 29620
Friday, August 15, 2025	11AM - 12PM	Concordance Info Session	Cherokee County Library	201 S. Rutherford St., Blacksburg, SC 29702
Monday, August 18, 2025	10AM - 1PM	Federal Bonding Workshop	Darlington County Library	204 N. Main St., Darlington, SC 29532
Wednesday, August 27, 2025	1PM - 5PM	Community Resource Event	McCormick County Library	201 Railroad Ave., McCormick, SC 29835
January - August (See flyer for dates)	10AM - 1PM	Federal Bonding Workshop	Palmetto Goodwill	2754 Agnes Lane, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588
Thursday - Saturday, September 18-20, 2025	9AM - 3PM	Yemassee Shrimp Festival	Yemassee Municipal Complex	101 Town Cir., Yemassee, SC 29945
Saturday, September 27, 2025	9AM - 3PM	4th Annual HCCAR Field Day	Varnville City Clerk’s Office	95 E Palmetto Ave., Varnville, SC 29945
Every First Monday (11/24 - 12/25)	10 AM - 1 PM	Mullins Public Library	Resume Workshop	210 N. Main St., Mullins, SC 29574
Every Third Wednesday	9 AM - 12 PM	Community and Homeless Resource Hub	Darlington Motel	600 Pearl St., Darlington, SC 29532
Every Third Friday	11AM - 2PM	Lending a Hand Information Sessions	Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach	1411 MR Joe White Ave., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

SC@Work Trip Flyers

Want to spread the word about upcoming SC@Work: Rural Connections? Click on the below options to download event flyers for upcoming trips!

July 31 - Abbeville Flyer
August 2 - Colleton Flyer
August 5 - Yemassee Flyer
August 5 - Hampton Flyer
August 8 - Darlington Flyer
August 9 - Hampton Flyer
August 12 - Abbeville Flyer
August 13 - Laurens Flyer
August 13 - Myrtle Beach Flyer
August 13 - Greenwood Flyer
August 14 - Abbeville Flyer
August 15 - Blacksburg Flyer
August 18 - Darlington Flyer
January - August (select dates) - Horry Flyer
August 27 - McCormick Flyer
September 18-20 - Yemassee Flyer
September 27 - Hampton Flyer
Every First Monday - Mullins Flyer
Every Third Wednesday - Darlington Flyer
Every Third Friday - Myrtle Beach Flyer

List of South Carolina Rural Connections Tiers

2023		2024		2025
TIER IV	TIER III	TIER IV	TIER III	TIER IV	TIER III
Allendale	Abbeville	Abbeville	Calhoun	Abbeville	Chester
Bamberg	Chesterfield	Allendale	Chester	Allendale	Chesterfield
Barnwell	Clarendon	Bamberg	Clarendon	Bamberg	Clarendon
Cherokee	Colleton	Barnwell	Colleton	Barnwell	Colleton
Chester	Darlington	Cherokee	Darlington	Cherokee	Darlington
Dillon	Fairfield	Chesterfield	Fairfield	Dillon	Fairfield
Lee	Greenwood	Dillon	Greenwood	Lee	Greenwood
Marion	Horry	Lee	Hampton	Marion	Hampton
Marlboro	Jasper	Marion	Horry	Marlboro	Horry
Orangeburg	Laurens	Marlboro	Laurens	Orangeburg	Laurens
Union	McCormick	Orangeburg	McCormick	Union	McCormick
Williamsburg	Sumter	Union	Sumter	Williamsburg	Sumter
		Williamsburg