VICKSBURG – Job seekers in Vicksburg and surrounding communities can now seek employment plus a whole lot more at the newly-opened WIN Job Center on the grounds of Hinds Community College Vicksburg-Warren Campus.
From left, Vicksburg-Warren Campus Vice President Marvin Moak, State Sen. Briggs Hopson III, Hinds President Dr. Clyde Muse, Mary Powers, workforce director for CMPDD, Jackie Turner, executive director for MDES, State Rep. Oscar Denton (Hinds Community College/Tammi Bowles)
College officials and others representing partnering entities that made the center’s new location inside the Blackburn-May Building a reality marked the occasion with a formal program Sept. 19.
“We’re dedicated to make a seamless entry for employers and citizens in the Vicksburg area,” said Jackie Turner, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, implored the public and business community to use resources provided by the state agency to help people find gainful employment.
“We’re all in partnership here in the WIN Job Center. Use the facilities here and online services that MDES has. We help Mississippians find jobs.”
The college assumed operations of the local office for Mississippi’s primary employment services functions last fall. The ceremony completes a move from the center’s longtime previous location on Monroe Street, near downtown Vicksburg.
The center’s new digs offer office space for staff, a computer lab for searching employment opportunities and additional room for business and industry to utilize to attract employees. Sharing space on campus puts job-seekers within easy access to career and technical training opportunities through Hinds and social services already on campus, such as Single Stop.
“This building will afford us more space, is newly-renovated and gives the staff a pleasant atmosphere to work in, right here on the public transportation route,” said Mary Powers, workforce director for Central Mississippi Planning and Development District. “It will afford the citizens of Vicksburg, Warren County and Claiborne County a chance to be served more efficiently. Spread the word – we are here, open for business, and here to help you.”
Hinds President Dr. Clyde Muse credited Powers and CMPDD as a longtime guiding force in the state’s workforce development efforts, and the Vicksburg office in particular.
“She has been influential in helping us with the concept of a place where people can go and get all the services they need when they’re looking for a job,” Muse said. “Bringing it on our campus means that when a person needs help in terms of employment, they’ll get additional help in education and training if they need it.”
Representing the Warren County Board of Supervisors on the program was District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon. Playing off the title of the center, called the employment center’s arrival to Hinds a “win-win” for the community.
“When the opportunity came to partner with Hinds and take the job center and move it here from where it was, it was an opportunity that didn’t take much to think about,” Selmon said.
Hinds officials touted the success of the job center’s new space in the first three days of being open officially.
“We already have a handful of people who came in looking for a job and they have their financial aid application done and are working toward getting enrolled in the college,” said Dr. Robin Parker, district dean of Community and Economic Development Parker. “Imagine where we’re going to be next year.”
For more information on services offered by the center, contact 601.619.2841 or visit https://mdes.ms.gov/win-job-centers/vicksburg-win-job-center/