Monday, August 26, 2002
PRCC's Workforce Development Center served more than 9,000 last year

     HATTIESBURG - Pearl River Community College's Workforce Development Center in Hattiesburg served more than 10,500 citizens within its six-county district last year.
     From July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002, the Center participated in training partnerships with 61 organizations, primarily businesses and industries that pay taxes and exist to make a profit.
Those training partnerships provided basic skills, technical and job specific training to working men and women.
     "The Workforce Development Center has performed a critical economic function in
assisting businesses and industries to train their workers," said Ed Felsher, director of the PRCC Workforce Center.
      "The center has made a difference to a whole lot of working folks. All signs point to the certainty that demands for workforce training in the PRCC district will increase, especially in the more technologically complex work skills."
     The center delivers workforce training assistance in Forrest, Hancock, Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Marion and Pearl River counties. While the center exists primarily to serve working people employed in the business and industry community, workforce training assistance is also offered to individuals whoa re not currently employed and to public service organizations.
      The state Board for Community and Junior Colleges supported workforce training in the PRCC district with more than $1.5 million of state training funds for 95 projects. Forrest County alone accounted for 30 training partnerships with the Workforce Development Center and benefitted from more than $1 million of state training funds.
     Hancock County accounted for 11 training projects and benefitted from more than
$330,000 of state training funds. Third highest was Marion County with nine training projects that benefitted from more than $120,000 of state training funds. Fourth was Pearl River County with eight training projects that benefitted from some $18,000 of state training funds.
     During nearly eight years of serving the working community, the PRCC center has served nearly 40,000 people. This has been accomplished by providing training to working folks in job skills ranging from basic workplace reading and mathematics to advanced computer applications and operation of state-of-the-art metal shaping machinery.
     "Training by the center is customized to meet the needs expressed by customers," said Felsher. "The services and resources of the Workforce Development Center are available to any business or industry organization located in the six counties served by PRCC." 
     The PRCC Workforce Development Center's training activities are organized
around three training delivery systems:
  1.Workforce training partnerships between the PRCC Workforce Development Center
and business, industry, educational and public service organizations in the PRCC district;
  2.Adult Basic Education Programs that provide adult education training services and
resources to individuals seeking basic job skills training and/or assistance with GED preparation;
  3.The Small Business Development Center that provides advice, counsel and other forms of assistance to individuals engaged in starting or operation a small business.
  During the last fiscal year, significant activities included the continued development
of the Advanced Technology Center project in Hattiesburg and Remote Sensing Education activities.
  The Mississippi Legislature has set aside $4 million to build the ATC center, along with a $1 million match in local funds - $500,000 from the city of Hattiesburg, $400,000 from Forrest County and $100,000 from the Asbury Foundation.  
  The Center will be located in the Hattiesburg-Forrest County Industrial Park. The
architect has completed design of the facility and once it is approved by the state Buildings Commission, the bid process will begin.
  According to Felsher, the Workforce Development Center will be an integral and vital
component in planning and managing workforce training programs provided by the ATC. "Involvement with the ATC will require the Workforce Development Center to expand and improve its focus on technology training in the PRCC district and beyond,' said Felsher.
  The Center continued a major training support effort of the Lockheed Martin plant start-up at the Stennis Space Center. Training of satellite propulsion and metrology technicians absorbed most of the funds and effort extended by the Workforce Development Center's Lockheed Martin Site Team.
  This training project completed its second year of operation in Fiscal Year 2002 and will likely operate for at least one more year.
  Felsher said that '02 was a profitable and productive training year for the Workforce
Development Center. "While some concern over workforce training funds was initially
experienced, a worst-case scenario was avoided and, in the end, adequate funding was available for training."
  He adds that training the workforce will continue to be a major priority in the next fiscal year. "Our focus will broaden significantly as we begin the process of integrating the Workforce Development Center with the Advanced Technology Center," said Felsher. "This must be accomplished while continuing to deliver customized workforce training to businesses, industries and other organizations that represent a very large part of the Workforce Development Center's customer base."