Building anything from the ground up is a challenge. Building a home or a commercial building has blueprints and experienced professionals to guide the process. Building an antique car has shop manuals and veteran mechanics to put each piece together into the finished product. But what does it take to build a basic flooring installation program, implement it in local colleges and ultimately, secure a direct pipeline to high school students?
In January 2020, the Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit program was established in Dalton, Georgia, to carry out a three-fold mission: 1) recruitment, 2) scholarships and 3) job placement. Before any of that could happen, the FCEF and its partners—the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), International Certified Flooring Installers (CFI) association, and the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF)—were required to build a program and develop curriculum with no blueprints, no shop manuals and certainly no professionals to call on for guidance as nothing like this has ever been done in the flooring industry.
While the FCEF was quite literally constructing its foundation and working to spread the news of its intentions and garner support from the industry, those in the local community saw opportunity even in the midst of a pandemic. In March 2021, Georgia State Representative Victor Anderson and co-owner, Anderson Carpet One Floor & Home, and Jim Aaron, executive director, FCEF, came together to hash out the idea of implementing an installation training course into the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG).
Anderson, whose family has been in the flooring business for over 40 years, worked alongside Aaron and Kaye Whitener, director of operations, FCEF; Dr. Ray Perren, deputy commissioner, TCSG; representatives from the continuing education department and members of the TCSG Georgia Quick Start workforce development program; the commissioner and others to “put together the framework for this program.” According to Anderson, there were approximately 12 people working on implementing the program into the TCSG, starting with establishing it under the state budget.
The next step for Anderson was writing letters of support to the commissioner and the governor’s office to ensure that the program was considered. Additionally, he, along with several other business owners, wrote letters of commitment that outlined the value of the installation positions to retail flooring business owners like him and those in support.
“All of our installers are subcontract crews, but based on what I pay my subcontractors and how they pay their help, I know what the value of having that education and having that skillset is worth,” said Anderson.
The TCSG is the two-year public education system of Georgia and is made up of 22 colleges. Its mission is workforce development and thus far has achieved 99% job placement due to the relationships with local business and industry, according to Dr. Perren. It is through these relationships that the college system can effectively place students following graduation.
“We listen to business and industry, what their needs are and the programs to meet those needs,” said Dr. Perren.
The Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), part of the TCSG system, was the first campus to implement FCEF’s program as a non-credited course through the school’s Office of Economic Development department. Two cohorts completed the Basic Floor Covering Installation course, the first starting in January 2022 and the second in May 2022 and running for 10 weeks each.
Anderson points out that GNTC was the perfect location due to its direct access to flooring manufacturers and the fact that it currently offers advanced manufacturing training for both Mohawk Industries and Shaw Industries, “so [flooring] is not something that’s completely foreign to them. They were able to take [the installation training] and put it into a format so that other college systems and other school systems would then say, ‘Okay, we see how this could be done now.’”
One of the main goals of the FCEF program was to achieve placement in an accredited college. This allows the program to be a standalone course that is eligible for grants and scholarships just like any other college program. Georgia has the HOPE Grant (not the same as the HOPE Scholarship) which is available to anyone who is a Georgia resident and working toward a certificate or diploma, according to gafutures.org. In March 2022, FCEF announced that the course had been accepted into the GNTC course offerings. The course, Flooring Installation Technician, runs for 15 weeks, and students receive 12 credit hours.
Another goal was to create a replicable program that could be established in any college across the country. The program has since been established in Atlanta Technical College, and as of December 5, 2023, Albany Technical College kicked off its first semester of the program. One other college within the TCSG system is on the radar—Georgia Piedmont Technical College. According to Dr. Perren, the hope is to make the program available in every region of Georgia but not necessarily every college.
Following completion of the first semester, Dr. Perren points out that some adjustments were made to the curriculum. “We learned a lot—learned there were some parts of the program that we didn't really need and parts we needed to add,” he said. “Working with Jim and Kaye and with the employers here in North Georgia, we were able to put together a really great instructional program.”
There are several challenges that have certainly created obstacles along the way. One being the difficulty in attracting an instructor to teach the course. Dr. Perren cites the overwhelming need for installers in the field and the inability to compete with the salaries flooring installers make. However, the FCEF assisted in locating an instructor to teach at GNTC.
Ultimately, the biggest challenge of all is getting students to fill the seats, according to Dr. Perren. Dr. Heidi Popham, president, GNTC, echoes that sentiment, “Our largest challenge, and we still face it today, is simply enrollment. We just don't have the interest in the community of Northwest Georgia where someone says, ‘Wow, that's really what I want to be.’”
In the wake of the pandemic, college enrollment dipped and left colleges struggling to get numbers back to pre-pandemic levels. The TCSG reported that total enrollment for academic year (AY) 2020 was 143,750 students. Enter the pandemic. Enrollment dropped by 7.4% to 133,144 for AY 2021. Down by another 1.5% in AY 2022, enrollment dipped to 131,158. However, in 2023, the numbers ticked back up 3.8% to 136,114. Certainly not pre-pandemic numbers, but it’s a start in the right direction.
Two-year colleges were hit the hardest according to data by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The enrollment rate for two-year institutions dropped from 13% in 2010 to 8% in 2021. The overall college enrollment rate dropped to 38% in 2021 from 2020’s 40%. The overall college enrollment rate includes 18- to 24-year-olds for both 2-year and 4-year institutions combined, according to nces.ed.gov.
So, what is the solution? The state of Georgia offers a Dual Enrollment program where qualified high school students can earn high school and college credit concurrently in the GNTC’s nine-county service area.
GNTC and The Dalton Academy (TDA), an area high school, have established a dual enrollment program partnership where students can complete the 12-credit hour Flooring Installation Technician course while still in high school. This is an industry first.
According to Kristi Hart, GNTC’s director of high school initiatives, the state of Georgia will cover up to 30 credit hours. This means that the first cohort, consisting of nine TDA high school students, will begin their floorcovering education journey on January 8, 2024, at GNTC at no cost to them.
Additionally, GNTC will ensure that every student is supplied with the tools needed for the course. For those who might not have transportation to and from the college, Matthew Mederios, principal, TDA, explained that the high school is planning to offer a shuttle service from the high school.
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