KANNAPOLIS ó Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and its R3 Center have received a $40,000 grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to provide career assistance to local tobacco workers, their family members and local businesses adversely affected by changes in the tobacco industry.
The grant is part of the N.C. Community College System’s Project Skill-UP program, which provides education and training for people in the tobacco industry, including career exploration activities, achieving educational credentials and job placement.
The Tobacco Trust Fund Commission is supporting Project Skill-UP with an overall grant of $242,000 for workforce development programs at a number of community colleges.
RCCC’s R3 Center will use the grant to identify and recruit Cabarrus and Rowan residents for the program.
The R3 Center will offer workshops on workplace readiness and career development and conduct individual career counseling sessions. In addition, the center will assist participants in achieving career readiness certification, a national credential program that helps job applicants show proof of their basic skills to employers.
R3 Center counselors will work personally with clients under the grant to assess their need for additional training and/or education. Once clients have developed individual employment plans, they will be eligible to receive grant funding for additional training and education.
The N.C. General Assembly created the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission in 2000 to help members of the tobacco community ó including farmers, tobacco workers and related businesses ó lessen the impact of declining tobacco production.