Founded in 1990, the Hosiery Technology Center at the community college works very closely with local industry and the Adult Basic Skills Department at CVCC to help with the enormous changes it takes to compete in a global environment today. The hosiery industry in Catawba County has actively recruited a large number of non-English speaking employees. Hosiery Talk was a response to the industry's large population of non-English speaking employees' assimilation to the workplace. Project Director Sandra St. Louis and Assistant Project Director Melissa Truesdale worked under the direction of Claudia McLean, Basic Skills Education Programs Coordinator. Technological changes in the hosiery industry as well as the high cost of equipment and materials require employees who can read well enough to decipher complex labels and instructions for equipment maintenance.
Mistakes can be costly for business.
This cost consciousness on the part of industry has resulted in the realization that quality job training is indeed cost effective. Sandra and Melissa worked very closely with plant personnel to pull together all the elements necessary for instruction. Having taught classes at local plants prior to the project, Sandra had already developed rapport with plant personnel so that her efforts were perceived as something desirable and helpful - rather than just creating additional work for involved plant workers and supervisors. The major task of the project was to create and pilot curricula, which address critical thinking and problem solving skills in the workplace. Employees must master traditional literacy skills, along with more complex computer and machine literacy to be employable in today's complex hosiery industry.