N.C. program to train furniture workers
Officials say region faces shortage of skilled hands
By Heath Combs
Furniture Today (North Carolina)
December 4, 2008
HIGH POINT — The torrent of layoffs in furniture manufacturing in the North Carolina Piedmont region in the past decade is having an unintended consequence: a shortage of skilled factory workers willing to take the place of older ones who are retiring.
On Wednesday, four high-end upholstery and contract producers, working with local officials, unveiled a program aimed at countering that trend. Industry participants included Baker Furniture, Brayton International, KI and High Point Furniture Inds.
The program, called CRAFT, for Combining Resources for Advancement of the Furniture Trade, will start offering classes in February to train furniture workers.
The classes, funded by local groups and a $165,510 federal grant, are aimed at creating a pool of skilled workers. The first class at Guilford Technical Community College, near High Point, is expected to train 18 people.
Through marketing, the CRAFT program also will work to improve the image of high-end upholstered furniture manufacturing as a viable career.
Companies working with the program have developed a model curriculum for high-end upholstering and sewing, said Will Stange, human resources manager for Baker.
Furniture companies also are contributing by donating fabric, frames and other materials from discontinued units to the program, Stange said. About 600 items produced through the pilot program could eventually be sold, he said.
After their training concludes in November, the trainees should qualify for jobs paying between $11 and $15 an hour, officials said.
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