There are three regional telecommunications centers located in Columbia, Florence, and Greenville.

No formal uniform is required. However, the dress code is business casual. Jeans can be worn as long as the jeans are neat with no holes or frays.

Due to the sensitive information the TCO has access to, an applicant will undergo an in-depth background review to include a review of the applicant’s working history, driving record, criminal history, references, polygraph examination, and interview. If selected, the applicant must also complete and pass a pre-employment drug screening. 

Overall, the hiring process may take up to four months.

We want the most highly qualified candidates to join our team. That is why our training is specialized and is comprised of a mixture of on-the-job and classroom training. The training programs is designed to be completed within six months.

• Classroom training: Telecommunications Operators attend several courses where they learn to operate communications equipment such as the 800 MHz radio, the NCIC terminal and the Computer-Aided Dispatch System.
• On-the-job training: Telecommunications Operators also receive on-the-job training with an experienced operator to learn and develop skills required to offer assistance to troopers and other law enforcement agencies, as well as the motoring public.

While no public safety dispatch experience is required, our agency does take prior public safety dispatch experience into consideration when offering a position within the Telecommunications Unit. You can find out more about TCO starting salaries here: https://scdps.sc.gov/careers/telecom/salary.

TCOs are required to work 12-hour rotating shifts to include days, nights, weekends, holidays, and irregular hours on short notice. Shifts are scheduled based on Telecommunication Center needs.

Please be very thorough and take your time filling out every single question on application. Pay very close attention to detail. If your state application is missing dates, phone numbers, full addresses for references, or if it has unexplained gaps/dates in employment periods it will not move forward in the process.

Adding a resume does not take the place of a complete application. An incomplete state application with a detailed resume attached is not satisfactory. YES: You must list ALL Employment History.

An application riddled with misspellings and grammar errors may not move forward in the employment process.

Proofread your application before submitting!

If you fail to disclose a past employer and one is discovered during your background investigation or polygraph, or if you have been terminated or forced to resign from any position in lieu of a termination at any time and you do not disclose this, it is considered a falsification of your application. This will lead to your application not moving forward in the process.

Be 100% honest while filling out the Application. List ALL of your education history starting with your High School/GED information (Dates, Name…..etc) and ALL Employment History.

If you have been terminated from any employment, at any time, be honest and list it. A prior employment termination DOES NOT exclude you from employment, but not being honest about it does!

Please fully familiarize yourself with our minimum requirements for employment. Answer all drug questions and all criminal history questions honestly. Falsifications discovered on any of these questions will lead to the termination of your employment process. Be 100% honest while filling out the application.

We are discovering that more and more of our e-mails to applicants that include applications, appointments, forms…etc are ending up in these “Junk/Spam" folders and applicants are missing important information from the SCHP.

Check your e-mail to include your “Junk/Spam” to ensure you don’t miss anything.