2006

By TAMI K. PHILLIPS TIMES STAFF WRITER

to use during training, Harris said Craft-Co and Raytheon routinely hold safety and electnc training sessions for employees. "We find the trainer and reim– burse them," Harris said "In most instances, they (the comany) call us and say they need training." Most industries request that the training take place at their facilit}: Harris said Language-basedclasses are offered in English and Spanish and are customized tomeet work– force needs. Two Englishas a Second Language (ESL) teachers are available at Tyson Foods twice a week, Harris said ESL classes are held at shift breaks to accom– modate employees interested in tweaking their language skills. Tyson also recognizes the need to educate employees, as they reimburse workers for half time while attending the courses. The TrinityMission Center in Forest andExcel Learning Center inMorton fund someof their instructors through ECce, who provides pay for the instructors. Courses offeredat Excel include advanced Spanish and three levels of basic Spanish. "Things have worked really well since we started last yea~;" Spanish teacher Lia Ochoa said of the center's relationship with ECCC. Smaller businesses can also ben– efit from Worlaorce Development training, Harris said If a bank gets a new computer systemand needs to train its employees on the system. ECCC can find senda trainer to the bank to give instruc– tion. All Workforce Development trainers are offered to industries and businesses free Qf charge, unless the industry or business requests a certain trainer: "It helps save a lot of dollars," Harris said "Our main goal is to improve the worlaorce."

Manyof the businesses and industries inScott Countyowe a bit of their continuingsuccess to EastCentral Community College. As part of the college's Workforce Development program, the worlaorce development staff "is positioned, resourced and dedi– cated to improve the economy in the ECCC district bystrengthen– ing the professional capacities of the current and future workforce." ScottCounty industries such as Raytheon Tyson and Craft-Co. amongothers; have taken advan– tage of the many servires and training opportunities offered to their employees. The ECCC Workforce Development Center was estaJ:>. lished in accordance with Mississippi'sWorlaorce and EducationAct of 1994 and is sup. ported through the State Board of Community and Junior Colleges. According to the college's Web Site, Workforce Development pro. vides customized services for indi– viduals and emplo~rs in the col– lege district. "We are able to help reimburse companies for moneyand time spent on training," saidTinaM. Harris. Basic Skills Specialist at ECCC. ·'We meet with the compa– ny contacts, see what training needs they have and then either find a trainer or reimburse the company for their trainer expense. Every industryneeds some type of trainingat some point." There are approximately 50 types of training, including quali– ty training, supervisory training and electrical training. GED cJass. es, literacyclasses, pre-employ– ment classes and life skills classes are also offered. Craft-Co. for example, has a mobile computer lab set up out– side of the factory for employees