Piedmont Technical Sole Source # SS-27008

Description: Solicitation #: SS-27008 Posting Date: November 02, 2026 Based on the following determination, it is the intent of Piedmont Technical College (PTC) to proceed with the proposed procurement action described below pursuant to the authority of §11-35-1560 (A) of the SC Consolidated Procurement Code, in accordance with Regulation 19-445.2105 (B)(5). PTC intends to negotiate and procure a Sole Source Procurement from: Lightcast 232 N Almon St, Moscow, ID 83843 x One (1) Lightcast Skillabi Product Due to its original partnership with the Association of Community College Trustees, Lightcast has created and continues to hone a model that considers the unique impact of higher education institutions on the regional economy. Lightcast captures the unique value added from higher education institutions, as opposed to other businesses. Lightcast further differentiates between higher education institutions by taking into account the degrees and programs offered by the institution, institutional finances, as well as the uniqueness in the types of students served from their unique student demographics to full-time nature. Piedmont Technical College believes this is the only vendor capable of providing this product with these characteristics. This notice of Intent to Sole Source is to determine the availability of alternate vendors capable of providing the products/services outlined herein. Estimated Value: $ >$10,000 but <$25,000 Questions: Shall be addressed to the e-mail address of the Procurement Officer indicated above. This notice will be posted in the South Carolina Business Opportunities (SCBO) Newsletter for five business days as required by §11-35-1560 of the SC Consolidated Procurement Code. Closing Date: Alternate vendors capable of providing these products/services must respond by email to Brian K. McKenna, Procurement Manager, at procurement@ptc.edu no later than 5:00 PM on November 09, 2026. PROTESTS (MAY 2019) If you are aggrieved in connection with the intended award of this contract, you may be entitled to protest, but only as provided in §11-35-4210. To protest an intended award of a contract pursuant to §11-35-1560, you shall (i) notify the chief procurement officer in writing of your intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this intent to award is posted, and (ii) if the appropriate chief procurement officer has been timely notified of your intent to protest, you may submit your actual protest within fifteen days of the date this notice of intent to award is posted. Days are calculated as provided in §11-35-310(13). Both protests and notices of intent to protest must be in writing and must be received by the appropriate Chief Procurement Officer within the time provided. The grounds of the protest and the relief requested must be set forth with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. Any protest or notice of intent to protest must be addressed to the Chief Procurement Officer, Information Technology Management Office, and submitted in writing (a) by email to: protest-itmo@itmo.sc.gov or (b) by post or delivery to: 1333 Main Street, Suite 700, Columbia, SC 29201. Unless otherwise suspended or cancelled, PTC will purchase these items. Contractor should not perform any work on or incur any costs associated with this notice prior to the receipt of a purchase order. PTC assumes no liability for any expenses incurred prior to issuance of a purchase order. The Drug-Free Workplace certification must be obtained for Sole Source procurements greater than $50,000.00. PIEDMONT TECHNICAL COLLEGE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION & JUSTIFICATION Pursuant to SC Code Ann. s11-35-1560 and SC Regulation 19-445.2105 Agency Name: Piedmont Technical College Agency Number: T10 Department: Academic Affairs Total Amount (excluding sales tax): 12,075.00 Sole Source Reference Number: SS-27008 Date: 10/29/2026 1. Procurement Need Description of Agency Need. Describe the business need, problem, or requirement this procurement fulfills. Do not describe the proposed vendor solution. The College requires a curriculum alignment and labor market intelligence solution to support the systematic evaluation, development, and continuous improvement of academic programs. The College seeks to strengthen alignment between curriculum content, student learning outcomes, employer demand, and regional workforce needs. This purchase will support data-informed curriculum decisions, identify emerging skills and potential curriculum gaps, and help the College evaluate opportunities to revise existing programs or develop new offerings that respond to workforce demand. 2. Proposed Purchase Description of Supplies, Services, Construction, or Information Technology products and/or services to be provided under the contract. The proposed purchase is a subscription to Lightcast Skillabi for $12,075.00. Skillabi is a curriculum alignment platform that analyzes program descriptions, course content, and learning outcomes to identify skills taught and compare them with skills sought by employers. Its capabilities include program-to-occupation alignment scoring, skill gap identification, market opportunity insights, and curriculum modeling. PTC will use the platform to inform program review, curriculum development, workforce alignment, and strategic academic planning. 3. Proposed Vendor Sole Source Vendor Legal Name (DBA if applicable,) and address. Lightcast, Inc. is the proposed vendor. Lightcast provides labor market intelligence and workforce analytics solutions, including Skillabi, a specialized platform designed to connect academic curriculum with employer skill requirements. Skillabi uses Lightcast's skills and occupation taxonomies and labor market data to generate curriculum-specific insights that support academic program evaluation and improvement. 4. Quotation Reference Summarize the quote or price proposal. Specifically identify price and quantity where applicable $12,075.00 annually for one year's term fully supported by Perkins grant funding. 3. Market Analysis Summarize the market research conducted, including available vendors, alternative solutions considered, barriers to entry, implementation considerations, warranty/support options, training availability, and any other relevant findings. The market for workforce analytics and curriculum planning includes labor market information platforms, institutional research tools, and curriculum mapping solutions. However, these products may differ significantly in their ability to analyze curriculum content, map instructional outcomes to standardized skills, and compare those skills with current employer demand. Skillabi provides a specialized combination of curriculum skill analysis, program-to-occupation alignment scoring, skill gap identification, and labor market opportunity insights within one platform. These capabilities align directly with PTC's need to establish a consistent, data-informed approach to reviewing existing programs and evaluating opportunities for new program development. 6. Sole Source Justification Provide a factual and objective explanation demonstrating why this vendor is the only source capable of meeting the agency's requirements. Include why Lightcast is requested as the sole-source provider because Skillabi is the proprietary platform specifically designed to analyze academic curriculum and align the skills taught within programs with skills demanded by employers using Lightcast's proprietary data, taxonomies, and analytical methodology. Its integrated capabilities provide program-level alignment insights, identify potential skill gaps, and support the modeling of curriculum changes to evaluate their potential effect on workforce relevance. The requested procurement is based on the specialized functionality and proprietary analytical capabilities of Skillabi rather than on vendor preference alone. 7. Reasonableness of Price How does this compare to market research pricing and comparison of prior-year pricing. The proposed purchase price of $12,075.00 represents the quoted cost of the Skillabi subscription for one year and will be fully supported by Perkins grant funding. 8. Approvals By signing this document I certify that the information provided in this Sole Source Determination is accurate and supports the proposed procurement without competition. Requestor Name: Leandra Arvazzetti Date: 10/29/2026 Supervisor/Dean Name: Karla Gilliam Date: 10/29/2026 VP Business/Finance or College President Name: Paige Childs Date: 11/02/2026 Lightcast Piedmont Technical College 620 Emerald Rd N Greenwood, South Carolina 29646 Subiect: Skillabi Sole Source Document This letter serves as a sole source document for Lightcast's Skillabi. Lightcast utilizes secure, privacy-safeguarding, proprietary normalizations and enrichments (including, but not limited to providers, classifications of instructional programs [CIP], skills, and more). The Lightcast enrichments enable apples-to-apples comparisons to other Lightcast datasets and offerings which leverage the same Lightcast-proprietary normalizations and enrichments. Skillabi sources optionally, but typically, include (but are not limited to): customer-provided data (institutional programs, courses, and descriptive text describing curricular offerings), Lightcast job posting analytics, and multiple classification taxonomies. Lightcast uses this data along with proprietary approaches and methodologies to produce easy-to-read reports that can be leveraged by various teams across educational organizations. Description For years, higher education and employers have spoken fundamentally different languages. Institutions focused on building high-quality degrees while employers focused on skills and proficiencies. Until now, institutions have relied on relationships between government taxonomies (such as the CIP to SOC crosswalk) to connect their educational offerings to the labor market. Unfortunately, these relationships are limited in their granularity, flexibility, and responsiveness to market changes. Lightcast is taking a fundamentally different approach by using skills as a common language between higher education and the job market. In Skillabi, Lightcast has developed technology for a skills-based approach to connecting people, jobs, and education that is significantly more specific and flexible than previous relationships (including CIP to SOC crosswalks). Additionally, Lightcast's data-driven approach responds to market changes and emerging skills with unprecedented speed and fluidity. Benefits and Outcomes Skillabi supports curriculum and program development to strengthen academic programs' career relevance, as well as partnership initiatives (corporate and government), marketing efforts, and academic program portfolio management. The tool allows institutions to: - Inventory skills students gain throughout their curriculum - See how program skills align with occupations in demand and their skills - Identify skill gaps to what the job market is requesting, and skills to prioritize when filling those gaps. Skillabi will help with program and curriculum development by: - Showing how skills are distributed across curriculum - Connecting curriculum and programs to labor market skills - Providing a centralized location for viewing and collaborating on curricular skills - Delivering a perspective on how taught skills align with current regional market demand. At this time, Lightcast is not aware of any other company that provides these offerings with the same features, data, granularity, and/or outputs as described above. Sincerely, Christagher Schley In today's dynamic world of work, strategic decision-making hinges on precise, comprehensive, and actionable labor market intelligence; Lightcast stands as an unparalleled partner, uniquely positioned to provide organizations with the deep understanding needed to gain a decisive edge. For over two decades, Lightcast has pioneered the collection, analysis, and interpretation of labor market data. Our commitment to providing clarity in a complex and rapidly evolving employment landscape is evident in our distinct capabilities.