WorkLink Workforce Investment Board has earned the Joe A. Young Outstanding Local Workforce Investment Board Award for South Carolina. Each year, the State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) honors outstanding volunteers, participants, local boards, and training providers during the South Carolina Workforce Development Partnership Symposium. The award ceremony was held Tuesday, January 26, 2010, in Myrtle Beach. The Joe A. Young Award is granted to one of 12 Local Workforce Investment Boards in the state.

WorkLink, the Local Workforce Investment Board for Anderson, Oconee and Pickens Counties, connects companies and employees through the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The volunteer board of directors ensures that the local workforce development system is market-driven and responsible in meeting the employment and training needs of employers and job seekers.

As part of its vision to have a fully employed, skilled workforce, WorkLink provides On-the-Job and Incumbent Worker Training Programs to eligible employers, helps job seekers improve their skills through three OneStop Workforce Centers and works with youth to plan for college or a career. Annual events include an area Job Fair, Youth Forum, and Summer Youth Employment Program, in addition to occasional workforce development symposiums.

In program year 2008, WorkLink coped with a changing economy that doubled the number and frequency of customer visits to the OneStop Workforce Centers, established policy guidelines and priority of services, implemented strategic partnerships to strengthen the workforce system, and planned ahead to ensure that the available services meet the needs of the local area. This combination of reactive and proactive measures qualified the organization for the Joe A. Young Outstanding Local Workforce Investment Board Award.