Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Keesler Federal Credit Union will hold an Apprenticeship Signing Ceremony on Wednesday, February 6, at 10 a.m. at the college’s Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center in Gulfport.

The Bank Branch Manager Apprenticeship Program, which officially began August 20, is the first financial-industry registered apprenticeship program in the state, as well as the only online-registered apprenticeship program in Mississippi.

The Department of Labor Standards permits granting credit for the demonstration of previous skills or knowledge. There are nine current branch managers that will complete the program in fall of 2019, with 10 additional participants completing the program by December 2020.

A traditional apprenticeship program has participants alternating work with school each week.  Because Keesler Federal apprentices are working full time in their regular positions and gaining on-the job training, the instructional portion of the program is completely online.

Apprentices must take seven MGCCC apprenticeship courses and complete 10 hours of Keesler Federal on-the-job training. The program is 4,288 hours and includes a combination of  seven classes with a total of 324.95 hours of instructional classes and 3963.05 hours of on-the-job learning.