Foundation Awards 2nd Grant to CVCC Furniture Academy

December 15, 2017  by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Community / Charitable Support, Industry   

AHFA officials said the second grant will allow the college to run fiber optics to the academy and obtain internet connectivity.

“This grant will allow us to increase our instructional capacity at the Furniture Academy and have offices, a ‘smart’ classroom and a conference center on site.  This facility will not only be utilized by our students, but will serve as a state-of-the-art facility for student recruitment, industry workshops, events, and training,” explained Lori Price, director of CVCC’s Customized Industry Training and Workforce Development Innovation Center.

In May, the academy, which trains students to be skilled upholsterers and sewers and has a 100% placement rate, received a Furniture Foundation grant for student scholarships and equipment purchases.

CVCC began its Furniture Academy in 2015 in a 6,000-square-foot training area located on the college’s East Campus in Hickory. Due to growing demand, the program expanded the following year into a 38,400-square-foot building developed as a state-of-the-art training facility.

“Our grants are typically announced in May, but this year we became aware of a special need at the new CVCC Furniture Academy campus and decided to make a second allocation,” said Andy Counts, CEO of AHFA and administrator of the Foundation.

“With (the Foundation’s) help, we have been able to increase the number of skilled workers for the furniture industry and provide the training necessary for these individuals to obtain a lucrative career,” Price added.