CVCC Student Woodrum Earns Rare Platinum CRC

Patrick Woodrum Image
Patrick Woodrum

Patrick Woodrum recently became the first student enrolled in the Catawba Valley Furniture Academy to earn a Platinum Career Readiness Certificate. He is one of only four in Catawba and Alexander counties and among less than 30 people in the state to earn this certification, according to Tammy S. Buff, CVCC’s Workkeys administrator and human resources development instructor.

CRC offers employers a reliable means of determining whether a potential employee has the necessary literacy, mathematical ability and problem solving skills to be “job ready.”

Although Woodrum is employed full time with a medical furniture manufacturer, his goal is to increase his earning capacity as well as learn to build furniture “from the frame up.” A woodworker for the past 20 years, he’s always been interested in making things. Math in particular, was always his strong suit. In fact, he did not even use a calculator to complete the math portion of the CRC test.

A Wisconsin native, Woodrum moved to the Catawba Valley just a year ago to be closer to his teenage sister and father. A competitive dancer, his sister is also an excellent student. Woodrum wanted to be a good role model for her by enrolling in the Catawba Valley Furniture Academy. “I wanted to show her I can succeed in school, also,” he said.

Although he is currently taking just the first class in the academy, he plans to complete all nine in the series. “I figure it will take me four years,” he said. “It seems like a lot now, but at the end, I’ll know how to make furniture from scratch at home and hopefully be making more money at my full-time job.”

“Only four students have earned the prestigious Platinum ranking that Patrick has achieved. Patrick is an exceptional student,” Buff said.

Buff added that companies that embrace the Career Readiness Certificate have experienced a reduced staff turnover rate, a reduction in training time for new employees and an increase in productivity.

For more information on how to implement the Career Readiness Certification in the workplace, contact Buff at tbuff@cvcc.edu, 828-327-7000, ext. 4819.