Center for Culinary and Hospitality Innovation (CHI)

About

Greenville Technical College's Center for Culinary and Hospitality Innovation (CHI) is an innovative approach that includes private sector, government, and education partners working together to bring inclusive economic mobility and workforce development to one of Greenville's most distressed neighborhoods.  CHI will provide a neighborhood-based venue delivering education, personal interest courses, small business and start-up incubator space, and job training in the heart of the community.

CHI will address several unique educational and workforce development needs in our community:

Strategic Location/Access

CHI's strategic location and access to public transportation is vital for its success, as it provides optimal opportunity for low-income residents to access job training that leads directly to employment in a growing sector offering career pathways for all individuals of all ages and backgrounds. At the same time, the location near downtown (jobs within 2.5 miles of CHI) will promote employer engagement in development of training programs as well as access to a pool of well-trained prospective employees.

Job Training Program Quality

Greenville Technical College has a well-established track record of meeting the needs of adult learners across the educational spectrum, from those with personal challenges such as a criminal record, to single parents juggling family and work responsibilities while trying to take advantage of educational opportunity. Greenville Technical College has a well-developed short-term job training model, Quick Jobs with a Future, which has proven to be very successful in training and placing adults in employment (80% job placement rate in 2018).

Affordability & Training Costs

As part of the college mission to serve all residents of Greenville County, Greenville Technical College strives to make job training and education affordable. Greenville Technical College works closely with SC Works, the local federally-funded workforce development board, to access federal funds. Training at CHI will be available at no cost or low cost to students through this partnership. Greenville Technical College's Workforce Pathways Scholarships are also available to students in job training and academic credit programs.

Career & Educational Pathways

CHI will provide pathways for job training participants to continue their career and educational journey beyond short-term training. Currently, the culinary and hospitality fields are growing across the county, region, and state. Beyond plentiful job openings, these industries provide an on-ramp to the workforce from entry level positions to higher paying management jobs. Greenville Technical College will insure that short-term programs at CHI will help move students forward to higher levels of educational attainment through stackable credentials. CHI will supplement Greenville Technical College's existing associate degree culinary program through the Culinary Institute of the Carolinas at the Northwest Campus in Berea. The culinary program attained an 80% job placement rate (100% placement in Baking and Pastry Arts) for the 2016-2017 academic year.

The West Greenville Community

The strategic location of CHI is a purposeful investment for targeted economic growth in a low- and moderate-income community with a high concentration of jobs in the downtown area.

The Culinary and Hospitality Industry

Greenville's thriving restaurant scene demonstrates a growing need for a skilled workforce. In downtown Greenville, there are more than 125 independent restaurants in a 10-block stretch and soon to be 16 hotels. In Greenville County, there were over 1,000 eating and drinking establishments employing more than 22,000 individuals in 2017. Furthermore, Accommodation and Food Services (NAICS 72) has almost as many jobs as Health Care and Social Assistance (NAICS 62) in Greenville County. Each month, advertised jobs throughout the food service career ladder are plentiful, and wages typically meet the level of economic self-sufficiency for a single adult in Greenville County ($9.48 per hour).

The fastest growing workforce need in Greenville is entry to mid-level hospitality managers. Additional specialty needs are in event planning/coordination, conference center management, and club management according to the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association data. CHI's programing will address the culinary and hospitality workforce needs of today and the future.

Goals

1. Develop a skilled workforce for Greenville's rapidly expanding restaurant and hospitality industry by providing neighborhood-based training opportunities.
2. Create pathways for economic mobility for residents of West Greenville and a pipeline of future career hospitality industry workers.
3. Contribute significantly to the revitalization of the West Greenville community.
4. Provide incubator space for start-up and small business development specific to the culinary/hospitality industry.
5. Enhance and grow the "foodie" culture and image of Greenville through personal interest and community education classes for food enthusiasts.
6. Offer event space to promote The Village of West Greenville and downtown attractions.

Quick Jobs - Short-term job training for culinary and hospitality industry

Quick Jobs courses currently under development include:
      - Server and Wait Staff Training
      - Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry

Personal Interest Courses

Sample Course on the menu include:
      - Baking
      - Agriculture & Nutrition
      - Garden to Table
      - Holiday Preparation
      - Cooking Boot Camp
      - Seasonal Jams & Jellies
      - Children's Etiquette
      - Classic Sauces
      - Soup Methods
      - Butchering 101
      - Molecular Gastronomy
      - Knife Skills
      - College Cooking Prep
      - Channel 7 Culinary Quick Tips Cooking Show

Corporate Teambuilding

More details coming soon.

AdventureTECH Culinary Summer Camps

CHI will offer culinary summer camps for middle school student (ages 11 to 14).  More details coming soon.

Small Business Start-Up Incubator Space

More details coming soon.

Event Rental Space

More details coming soon.

Opportunity for Investment

We invite your partnership in this innovative solution addressing workforce development in the hospitality and culinary industry, job training for low-income workers, and community revitalization.  To learn more, contact the Greenville Tech Foundation at (864) 250- 8835 or foundation@gvltec.edu

Partners

Press Coverage

2/19/19:  Your Carolina interview with Ann Wright and Rick Erwin discusses the new Center for Culinary and Hospitality Innovation

1/29/19: Greenville Tech Foundation announces partnership to grow culinary and hospitality workforce

1/28/19: Your Carolina interview explains plans for the new Center for Culinary and Hospitality Innovation

1/10/19: Upstate Business Journal - Greenville Tech’s Center for Culinary and Hospitality Innovation to anchor Poe West development