Volt Center opens its new commercial kitchen and hospitality training center
Are you interested in training for a new career or expanding the skills you already possess? A new state-of-the-art training center is now open in New Bern for classes that will help train students to reach their highest potential in today's hospitality industry.
Craven Community College hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Volt Center's new commercial kitchen and hospitality training facility on Tuesday. The Volt Center serves as Craven CC's primary workforce training center.
It is located at 205 First St. on The Volt Center's campus and is led by Meghan Margarum, Work Force Development Program Developer of Trades & Occupations.
Ray Staats, president of Craven Community College said the college invested less than $500,000 through state funding to complete the project which cost more than $5 million dollars.
The rest of the money came from our partners, Staats said. "This an amazing testimony to the folks that stepped forward to make this happen."
Since the Volt Center's opening, the center has trained more than 2,000 students and more than 600 students obtained immediate employment with salaries ranging from $15 per hour up to $70,000 a year in entry-level positions.
"Employers from all over the region come to the Volt Center to interview students while they are still learning their craft," Staats said.
The Volt Center kitchen was designed to provide classroom training space and hands-on equipment for hospitality jobs in Craven County.
Members of the Board of Directors of CCC and its foundation, former North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue. city and county officials, college faculty and invited guests were present for the ribbon cutting and allowed to take a tour of the new site.
The 22,000 square-foot training facility includes modern restaurant equipment such as prep stations, ovens, fryers, refrigerators, stoves and a dishwasher, as well as dry food storage, a dining area and classroom space and offices.
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New Bern Alderman Sabrina Bengal said the importance of hospitality training goes hand in hand with the growth of an important industry in this county.
"The impact that tourism has in jobs, sales tax and economic impact is amazing and this is another tool in that tool chest that we are going to be able to use," she said. If we don't have frontline staff in the hotels, in the restaurants in the attractions, it's going to be difficult to sustain what we've worked so hard to bring forth over these many years."
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The Volt Center is part of an ongoing partnership between the city of New Bern and Craven CC. Utilizing buildings and space provided by the city, Craven CC began offering classes at the Volt in 2019.
The Volt Center now includes a workforce training center, a diesel and heavy equipment garage, makerspace, law enforcement simulator training and the small business center.
Available classes include HVAC, hospitality careers, ServSafe education and refreshers, bartending, brewing, plumbing, welding small engine repair, forklift operation, diesel systems technology, electrical and carpentry and more.
For more information on hospitality programs offered at the Volt Center, visit cravencc.edu/hospitality.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Craven Community College opens commercial kitchen at the Volt Center'
