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We are seeing an increase in the numbers of people in pre-employment programs rising as unemployment has increased," said Scott Alsobrooks, director of Pearl River Community College's work force education program. "But we are also seeing a slight cutback in existing industry that might cut back on training a bit because of the economy."
While Pearl River's Lowery Woodall Advanced Technology Center focused heavily on helping people advance their careers in its early years, Hurricane Katrina shifted its mission and made it better prepared to deal with today's economy, Alsobrooks said.
"Since Katrina our focus has shifted more to preparing people for new jobs. Prior we had focus on moving people up the ladder; we still do that quite a bit," Alsobrooks said. "Our goal with programs post-Katrina is intense training to get people in and out and into the job market as quickly as possibly. It set us up well for the unemployment crisis we are seeing."
It is a similar story at Jones County Junior College's Advanced Technology Center, which opened after the 2005 hurricane.
"Basically we are focused on getting people work skills," ATC Director Greg Butler said. "We have seen a slight increase, but we do expect a bigger increase as a result of unemployment. Our main areas are adult education, small business, work force development. We have a small business development center to help people looking to start a business."
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Both work force development officials agreed that construction-related and skilled trades are currently the strongest markets.
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"Where we see the biggest need for training is in skilled craftsmen, such as welding, pipefitting, machining, construction, etc.," Butler said. "There is an enormous need for worker training in the advanced manufacturing trades."
"One area market that is still strong is the metal trades industry," Alsobrooks said. "We have welding programs all over the district with good placement rates and good pay. Another area is construction and we have a 12-week, intense program designed to get people in and out into the workforce."
But the schools also focus heavily on technology as the job market continues to incorporate technology.
"I know we have seen an increase in learning technology. Every field, whether it's health care or manufacturing, is going to have a computer attached to it."
In addition to those programs, Alsobrooks said Pearl River has worked with Chain Electric, Mississippi Power Co. and Coast Electric to recently start a program to train electrical lineworkers.
"This is an example of how we are seeing industry step up when they see a crisis coming," he said. "The average age of line workers is 50 and it's a young man and woman's game."
The program, which is supported by a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant and the cooperation of area electric companies, gives participants a chance to take individual classes on specific areas of the electrical distribution system, Alsobrooks said.
New at JCJC is a program to help inmates learn work skills, Butler said. The program, which is expected to begin in early February, will focus on inmates housed at the South Mississippi Correctional Facility.