Training adults for employment and self-sufficiency
Founded in 1997, the Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC) provides Workforce Development training and job placement assistance for adults who face barriers to long-term successful employment. Our vision is to transform the lives of our students and their families and positively impact our community. We provide paths to careers in the food service industry for adults whose barriers include lack of skills, incarceration, addiction, homelessness, and Veterans' re-integration issues. CCSC's overarching program goal is for graduates to move from dependency to self-sufficiency through stable employment.
CCSC's program is a creative solution to the interwoven problems of unemployment, hunger and homelessness. We focus on three core values: financial self-sufficiency, personal development and economic mobility. CCSC offers14-week culinary training sessions three times a year to students. We do not charge tuition. Our program is made possible by donations, grants, and community support. Our "student-centered" training helps students and alumni to experience immediate results, and to envision themselves as skilled and successful. As their skills grow and improve, they become empowered and confident and committed to achieving success and changing their lives. CCSC's program focuses on our students' potential rather than their past. The proverb: 'Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime,' illustrates the essence of CCSC's program. During training, students learn culinary skills necessary to obtain good paying($15+/hour) jobs in the restaurant and foodservice industry. In addition to culinary arts, our curriculum encompasses job readiness skills and a counseling program. Job readiness includes resume-writing, interview preparation, budgeting, and money management. Our counselor facilitates weekly group meetings and individual sessions, helping students explore specific barriers, and create plans of action, leading to greater success in work and in life. We enable students and alumni with job placement assistance. We maintain a job board, act as a reference, and facilitate interviews with potential employers. Students also gain valuable work experience by helping staff the Café and assisting with catering jobs.
Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 919-814-5400. The license is not an endorsement by the State.