Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College received two grants totaling $12.1 million through the RESTORE Act projects Governor Tate Reeves announced this week.  The two grants are for Workforce Training – Meeting the Needs of the Supply Chain and for a Health Professions Center for Excellence through the Health Professions (HEALP) for our Community program.

“We are excited to receive these grant funds that will allow us to offer no-cost and low-cost training in a variety of high-demand areas such as health care and transportation,” said Dr. Mary S. Graham, MGCCC president. “In addition, the funds will allow us to expand our industry partnerships to include more apprenticeship and workforce training to provide local business and industry with the well-trained workforce they need.”

The Health Professions (HEALP) for Our Community: Health Professions Center of Excellence project received $6.6 million in grant funds.  It will focus on attracting and training students in three programs along with renovating a 42,501 square-foot facility at the Jackson County Campus that will bring together corporate and academic communities as part of a collaborative network that fosters the healthcare talent pipeline.

In this initial phase of the HEALP for Our Community program, MGCCC will provide no-cost and low-cost training to students in Emergency Medical Science (EMS) Paramedic, Emergency Medical Technology (EMT), and Respiratory Therapy.  Subsequent phases could expand this reach to other high-demand health professions programs (PTA, OTA, Radiology, Medical Laboratory Technician, Surgical Technology, etc.).

The Workforce Training – Meeting the Needs of the Supply Chain project received $5.5 million through the grant. MGCCC will provide training to help alleviate the stress placed on the global supply chain especially in the Gulf Coast Region.  No-cost and low-cost training will be provided in areas such as automotive and heavy equipment maintenance programs to include E-vehicles and autonomous technology, commercial truck driving programs to include electric vehicle training, expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) programs, developing the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), and augmenting the automation program with the development of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) training in nanotechnology and systems such as microprocessors.