Video: Industry Day At EMCC

MAYHEW, Miss,(WCBI)—The Campus of East Mississippi Community College was filled with area industries Thursday.

Both the electrical automation technology and control students got the opportunity to interact with potential employers and show off their best work.

The East Mississippi Community College Electrical Automation and Control Technology Department is actively preparing their students for the working world.

” Just looking into something a little different. I came and talked with Mr. Johnson The head of the department here and listened to him and decided that this is what I wanted to do and enrolled that day,”said EMCC Electrical Student Charles Mullins.

Charles Mullins is one year into the electrical program at EMCC. He says one deciding factor for enrollment was the chance to work with the latest technology.

“We’ve had the opportunity to walk through a time of upgrade here in the department and see newer technologies. Not only being exposed to them but also get to train on them,”said Mullins.

There were 16 industries participated in Industry Day. Electrical Supervisor for Steel Dynamics Rob Irwan says without programs like this, hiring would be a headache.

” It kinda got stretched out over time. It could take several months now-a-days we have the program in place with EMCC that we have internship that some of these student may come over and work a semester or 2 in different departments of the plant and we would evaluate those employees or students as they work through that internship,” said Irwan.

As technology advances, Irwan says industry-school partnerships will become even more important.

“We’ve kinda come together as a team to express what we would like to see the students graduate from so all that plays a big part in what the students can learn when they come apply for a job having a little bit of that experience can help,” said Irwan.

Mullins interns with Yokahoma with the hope of full becoming a full-time employee when he graduates.

“This program gave me some foundations with electrical technology and opened a doorway to go into the work force. Here one of the desires of the department is to not just provide a degree but actually offer that next step in finding a job,”Mullins.

This was the inaugural Industry Open House. Organizers say they hope to make it an annual event.