Rowan-Cabarrus College Gets $40K Grant to Aid Tobacco Workers

Source from:  Charlotte Business Journal March 10, 2008  03/11/2008

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has received a $40,000 grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to provide career assistance to local tobacco workers and businesses adversely impacted by changes in the tobacco industry. The N.C. General Assembly created the commission in 2000 to help those affected by declining tobacco production. The college will use the grant to identify individuals and businesses in Cabarrus and Rowan counties affected by the shift in production. The school will offer workshops on career development and will conduct individual career-counseling sessions. Participants who develop employment plans will be eligible to receive grant funding for additional training and education. The career-assistance program coincides with Philip Morris USA's plans to close its 2,500-employee cigarette plant in Concord in about two years. The company cites a decline in U.S. demand for cigarettes. Most local production will move to the company's Richmond, Va., facility, where many of the Cabarrus plant's workers would be offered jobs. The decision to close the 2.4 million-square-foot Concord plant is part of a larger plan by the subsidiary of New York-based Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO) to consolidate its facilities and move more cigarette production to Europe, where smoking isn't taking such a large hit as in the United States. The decision will leave the 1.6 million-square-foot Richmond facility as Philip Morris' only U.S. production plant. For information on the the college's career-assistance program, call (704) 216-7201. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College offers 40 programs of study in business, health and human services and engineering technologies at multiple campus locations. The school offers associate's degrees in arts and sciences and applied science as well as diploma and certificate programs. Enditem