Lauderdale County School District Students prepare for the future

Today more than 60 Lauderdale County Students will be at the Meridian Community College Training Center for a training session.

Today students from the Lauderdale County School District will be part of a two-day training to learn tips and skills to prepare them for the workforce. The session is with the Workforce Alliance sponsored by Mississippi Power.

Kenny Watson Teacher at Southeast High School said, “It's an opportunity for our students in the CTE department to come and partner with industry in order to gain some exposure to a lot of soft skills that they otherwise may not get exposure to before they enter the workforce.”

The two-day training session will be teaching students skills like writing a resume correctly, how to dress properly for a job interview, and many soft skills that they wouldn't normally learn in a high school setting.

“I feel like the significance for today is industry poignant for our students and allowing them to see a path to a career. So often we tell our students that these paths are available, but they don’t see them. So today they are going to see Mississippi Power and MCC just leaders in the community stepping forward saying we are here for you, and we want to guide you to a rewarding career.” stated Heather LaCoste Teacher at Northeast High School.

Chris Phillips the area manager with Mississippi Power says with them being a highly technical industry it was a natural fit for them to sponsor the event.

“Our industry is highly technical, and so we train individuals from really all aspects of career and technical center programs. We also hire engineers, finance people, environmental specialists. And so there's a broad spectrum of trades that it takes to make our industry really work and be successful. And so for that reason, it's really important for us to make sure that we're broadcasting the message to students that these career opportunities exist,” said Phillips.

Jake Williams a senior who is attending the training told us what knowledge he hopes to gain today.

“I hope to take away how to do an interview the right way how to dress the right way and how to get your name out there to people and how to introduce yourself and how to get a work opportunity,” said Williams.