GNTC offers basic floor covering installation classes; FCEF awards scholarships to all students

Students learn about self-leveling underlayments at the 10-week FCEF Basic Flooring Installation Program at Georgia
Northwestern Technical College in Dalton, Ga. 

Dalton, Ga. — The Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) Whitfield Murray Campus opened here in 2019, but last week, the school celebrated a new program with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the 10-week Basic Floor Covering Installation Program at this location. In addition to curriculum and training provided by the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), and Certified Flooring Installers (CFI), the program is supported by Shaw, Mohawk, Engineered Floors and the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA). All students received a full scholarship from the Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF) for the ten-week course.

The FCEF website explains that “This 10-week program is designed to introduce students to the four major types of flooring materials and basic installation skills needed to succeed as a flooring craftsman. The program will be held at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Whitfield Murray Campus in Dalton, Ga.”

A training program summary on the site notes that the “program introduces students to the flooring installation industry and equips them with the skills needed to perform carpet, resilient, hardwood, and tile installations.  For carpet installation, topics covered include carpet installation tools, proper use of tools, installation of track strips and cushions, measuring and estimating, identifying, cutting, and seaming various types of carpet materials.  From there, students move on to resilient flooring topics, including resilient flooring types, moisture identification, cutting, adhesives and grout, dead zone and floating floors, and measuring and estimating.  For hardwood surfaces, students will gain knowledge and skills in nail, glue, and floating installation, as well as buffing, staining, sealing, and finishing surfaces.  When learning tile installation, emphasis is placed on safety tools, substrate prep, layout, tile cutting, mortar, and grout application.  A modeled real-world lab environment is utilized to reinforce and apply learned skills and techniques. Upon successful completion of training, students will gain meaningful employment and receive a Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF) Basic Flooring Installation Certificate of Completion from Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC).”

Becky Serbin, Education and Curriculum Director for the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) , attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony on behalf of NTCA and the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF).

“This class was learning about self leveling underlayments (SLU), with an ARDEX rep on hand to help teach for the day,” Serbin said. CTEF has submitted course content for the 2-week tile installation portion of the course.

Dave Garden, a Certified Flooring Installer (CFI) Master Installer, is taking the lead in instructing the course for the first two cohorts of this class, and is working to help secure a permanent teacher for the college. Garden is also certified with the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA).

Currently, there are two cohorts planned for training, with schedules as follows:

Cohort 1 (Spring Semester):  January 10 – March 18, Monday – Friday, from 8:00 am – 2:30 pm

• 1 Week of Introduction to the floor covering industry      January 10^th – 14^th
• 2 Week of Carpet                                                         January 17^th – 28^th
• 2 Week of Resilient                                                      January 31^st -February 11^th
• 2 Week Hardwood                                                        February 14^th – 25^th
• 2 Week Tile                                                                  February 28^th – March 11^th
• 1 Week Review and next steps                                       March 14^th – 18^th

Cohort 2 (Summer Semester):  May 16 – July 22, Monday – Friday, from 8:00 am – 2:30 pm

• 1 Week of Introduction to the floor covering industry      May 16^th -20th
• 2 Week of Carpet                                                         May 23^rd – June 3^rd
• 2 Week of Resilient                                                       June 6^th – 17^th
• 2 Week Hardwood                                                        June 20^th – July 1^st
• 2 Week Tile                                                                 July 5^th -July 15^th
• 1 Week Review and next steps                                      July 18^th – July 22^nd

For local coverage of the school and this new class, click here. For more information, go to FCEF’s dedicated webpage here.