February 6, 2025

East Mississippi Community College and Mississippi State University, key stakeholders in the SmartTech Mississippi project, have launched a pilot program to provide free noncredit electrical training to men at The Mission, a faith-based residential treatment program in West Point that assists those seeking to make positive changes in their lives.

EMCC will provide short-term Commercial/Residential Electrical and Industrial Motor Controls training to the men at a building located on the old Bryan Foods plant site. EMCC instructor Cecil Pittman, who teaches at The Communiversity, will travel to the site twice a week to conduct the training.

Initial training will include the fundamentals of electrical, such as safety, voltage and current, which will prepare the participants for advanced training they will receive in industrial motor controls, Pittman said.

The men will receive a certificate upon completion of the course and will also earn an industry certification in the use of multimeters.

“We are exploring the possibility of offering OSHA 10 certification as well,” EMCC Workforce Business and Outreach Training Manager Ray Hollis said of the course that offers instruction in workforce safety.

When the men finish the program, they will be qualified for work in the electrical field or to enroll in one of EMCC’s career technical programs of study.

“The training opportunities realized through this partnership will provide participants with a launching point towards careers designed to support advanced manufacturing facilities in day-to-day operations,” Hollis said.

This week, using lumber provided by EMCC, second-semester students enrolled in the Construction Engineering Technology program on the college’s Golden Triangle campus are framing walls inside the West Point building where the electrical training will take place. The walls will be used by Pittman to teach the students how to run wire and install electrical outlets and light switches.

“This is great experience for our students,” Construction Engineering Technology instructor Alan Hall said.  

The SmartTech Mississippi project is providing hand tools for use in the program, as well as an Amatrol electrical trainer, an educational learning system used to teach AC/DC circuits, relays, motor controls and power distribution, among other things.

Funding for the equipment comes via a $1 million U.S. National Science Foundation Engine Development Award granted to MSU’s ARDC. The grant’s purpose is to accelerate advanced manufacturing in Mississippi.

SmartTech Mississippi is funding pilot projects that “implement scalable and responsive solutions to workforce, innovation, and technical challenges,” MSU Vice-President of Research and Development Dr. Julie Jordan said.

“We are particularly interested in finding new pathways to promising careers in advanced manufacturing or related careers,” Jordan said. “SmartTech Mississippi is excited to be partnering with The Mission and EMCC in an electrical skills development program that could lead participants in one of several future workforce directions.”

The inaugural class of participants in the program consist of eight men at The Mission, which offers a 12-month residential treatment program for a myriad of issues, such as drug or alcohol addiction. Some of the participants are under court orders to undergo treatment, while others sought help on their own.

“We are not a homeless shelter,” The Mission founder and Executive Director R.C. Bryan said. “We are a hand-up. If a man is ready for a change, we will evaluate him and see if he fits our program. If he does, we'll walk alongside him for 12 months.”

Participants reside in the Men’s Center at The Mission, which is where they also receive counseling and other services. Both The Mission and the Men’s Center are located on the campus of the old Bryan Foods plant, as is the building where the training will take place. Bryan is the son of the founder of Bryan Foods. His daughter, Jean Bryan Moore is the program director for the Men’s Center.

Eight years ago, Bryan bought a couple of buildings on the 55-acre site of the former Bryan Foods complex to launch the men’s program.

“We’ve been evolving ever since,” he said.

Bryan provided space in one of the buildings to the Christian Men’s Job Corps, which is where the electrical training will take place. That organization assists the men at The Mission with resumes and provides instruction in areas such as computer skills and job readiness.

“They learn everything job related at the Christian Men’s Job Corps, such as how to dress and do an interview,” Moore said. “They are given a laptop when they complete the program.”

Austin Miller is among the eight men at The Mission who will be taking the Commercial/Residential Electrical program.

“I think it will be a good opportunity to develop a trade and learn some skills,” Miller said. “I already know a good bit about electrical, but now I will be able to get a certificate.”