New Initiative Helps Displaced Workers Learn New Skills To Land New Jobs

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- If you’ve lost your job due to the pandemic, help is on the way.

The state is launching a new initiative called Re-Skill Mississippi.

The initiative offers anyone who’s lost their job due to COVID-19 a chance to learn a new skill.

People can enroll at community colleges throughout the state to take classes, and get necessary training to land a job at one of the industries in the state.

East Mississippi Community College is one of the colleges offering the training.

“We have training for manufacturing skills, we have training for welding, we have a composites program where people can go to work if they get selected through one of our local industry partners and working kind of with aviation, which is really fun, a certified nurses assistant program is qualified, and so all of these programs work together to help people quickly enter into a job that they might have never considered before,” said Dr. Courtney Taylor, executive director of the community at EMCC.

Taylor said people are already expressing interest in the program.

“There’s also a component for on the job training, so they can come to us and get the training, and then the employers that are interested can get up to 75% of their wages covered,” Taylor explained.

Lawmakers have allocated $55 million from its CARES Act money to cover the cost for the classes and training.

Taylor said EMCC will start their training in September.

“These classes are typically a month or less, sometimes they spread over a couple of months, but it’s a couple of days a week, it’s not a full-time commitment like our degree programs are,” said Taylor.

Taylor said EMCC has partnerships with multiple industries in the Golden Triangle.

She believes those will now come in handy as the help individuals develop new skills and earn new jobs.

“Companies know that they are getting the skill-sets that they need because they work with us hand-in-hand, they meet with us every month, and we’re talking through these things, that way we know that everything we’re doing is to benefit the person so they can go to work quickly, easily, and they can be a valuable team member as quickly as possible also,” said Taylor.

The new initiative is also for individuals who’ve had their hours reduced as well due to the pandemic.

The program runs through December.

Click on the highlighted link to find out more information about Re-Skill Mississippi.