VGCC receives $25,000 Project Skill-UP Grant
Vance-Granville Community College has been awarded a $25,000 Project Skill-UP grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. This award is part of $450,000 in funding secured by the North Carolina Community College System to be shared by 24 community colleges across the state for workforce development initiatives.
Project Skill-UP grants were developed by the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission in collaboration with the North Carolina Community College System to help individuals and communities in rural counties of North Carolina that were adversely impacted by the decline in the tobacco industry. Skill-UP funds can be used to help students pay for tuition, books, fees, uniforms and other supplies. In the case of programs that have state licensure exams, such as Phlebotomy and Nurse Aide (CNA), the grant can help students pay for their testing fees.
“For VGCC, Skill-UP funds are a wonderful resource to help students offset their educational expenses so that they can reach their goals,” said Kyle Burwell, VGCC’s coordinator of Human Resources Development . “We target Skill-UP funds to short-term programs that lead students into good jobs, which is why we focus on high-demand health-care careers like Nurse Aide, Medication Aide, Medical Billing & Coding, and Phlebotomy.” Skill-UP funds have also been used to support students in various other occupational-extension and curriculum courses over the years. Students receiving Skill-UP assistance at VGCC not only finish a job training program but also have the option of completing a WorkKeys skills assessment that allows them to earn a Career Readiness Certificate.
This is the not the first time VGCC students have been supported by these grants from the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. In fact, since 2006, the college has received Project Skill-UP grants worth a total of $226,000, benefiting 455 students. The new grant is being used to support eligible residents of Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties to complete training programs between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012. A student can receive up to $500.
For more information on receiving Skill-UP assistance and the opportunities available at VGCC, contact Kyle Burwell at (252) 738-3276 or Teresa Ellis at (252) 738-3443. For more information on the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, visit www.tobaccotrustfund.org
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Above: From left, Monika Hargrove and Emerald Plummer, both of Henderson, expressed thanks that they are among the VGCC students whose training is sponsored by Project Skill-UP. Both started Nurse Aide (CNA) I training at VGCC on Jan. 11 after completing an Introduction to Nurse Aide/ Human Resources Development course. (VGCC photo)
