August 28, 2018

East Mississippi Community College’s Workforce Services division on the Scooba campus will offer two night welding courses, one of which is tailored to help meet the needs of a local business.

“We are working with Advance Tabco in DeKalb, which is in need of welders,” EMCC Scooba Welding Technology instructor Shane McDaniel said. “We are going to run a class specifically for them.”

A leading fabricator of aluminum and stainless steel sinks, aluminum food racks, work tables, dish washing tables, cabinets, chef counters and much more, Advanced Tabco operates out of 10 distribution and manufacturing facilities across the U.S.

“We look forward to working with EMCC and all its staff to help grow our community,” Advanced Tabco Plant Manager Davin Talbot said.

Students in the 32-hour welding course will learn about MIG welding and gas metal arc welding used in fabricating stainless steel and aluminum products.

Registration is under way now for the class that is expected to begin in September. Tentative plans are to offer the class Mondays and Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“We have not come up with an exact start time yet but we are working on that now,” McDaniel said.

The Scooba Welding department will also offer an eight-week night welding course. Tentative plans are to begin that course in September as well.

“This will be a regular welding course, which includes training in areas such as metal arc welding, cutting processes and pipe welding,” EMCC Kemper County Steps to Success Coordinator Susan Morgan said.

Requirements for both courses are the same. Students must be at least 18 years of age and score a silver or better on the WorkKeys assessment, which is available at EMCC and measures proficiency in Workplace Documents, Applied Mathematics and Graphics Information.

The Welding Technology program at the Scooba campus also offers a one-year certificate program and plans are in the works to offer an Associate of Applied Science degree in the future, McDaniel said. A two-year welding degree is already offered at EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus.

Students enrolled in the specialized welding class for Advanced Tabco are not guaranteed employment with the company once they graduate, but the skills they will learn are also in demand at other local industries, McDaniel said.

DeKalb native Dustin Davis is enrolled in the one-year certificate Welding Technology program at the Scooba campus. Davis, who earned an Associate of Arts degree with an emphasis in Advertising from EMCC in 2016, has been working in an office for the last 18 months.

“I really want to get back to doing some kind of hands-on work, which I enjoy,” Davis said. “There are a lot of opportunities in welding and new jobs are opening up. Also, if I learn a trade I will always have something to fall back on.”

McDaniel, who taught for 12 years in the welding and machine shop at Louisville High School, is in his first year at EMCC. He said he would like to grow the Scooba welding program and ensure the needs of local employers are met.

“Any local industry looking for welders with specific skills can reach out to us and we will work with them to provide the training they need,” McDaniel said. “Partnering with our industries is good for business, good for our community and good for our students who are looking to learn a marketable skill.”

Students interested in the welding programs at EMCC’s Scooba campus can call McDaniel at 662.476.5099 or email him at amcdaniel@eastms.edu. They can also call the Scooba Workforce Services at 662.476.5085.