On March 22, 2016, the Regional Workforce Summit was held at The Legend’s Club in Augusta Georgia. The summit was built on the 2015 regional workforce study commissioned by the SRSCRO. The study found that some 37,000 job openings with existing companies are expected between 2014 and 2019 in the five-county Georgia and South Carolina region. More than three-fourths of the job openings are identified as replacements for current workers due mostly to retirements. The day-long meeting included three panel discussions that addressed long-term regional workforce needs. Former U.S. Education Secretary, William Bennett, also spoke at the event.

The SRS Community Reuse Organization and four area economic development groups – the Augusta Economic Development Authority and the Development Authority of Columbia County in Georgia and the Economic Development Partnership and SouthernCarolina Alliance in South Carolina – sponsored the summit for invited guests including industry CEOs, school board members and superintendents, and local government officials.