Mississippi HUD Field Office Partners with the Department of Labor/Job Corps to Host Its First Regional Emerging Opportunities Summit

Mississippi Field Office Director Jerrie Magruder and Department of Labor Regional Director/Office of Job Corps Atlanta Region, Willie Taylor, (center) surrounded by Gulfport Job Corps Center Students.

The Mississippi Field Office held its first Regional Emerging Opportunities Summit in Gulfport, Mississippi on August 14, 2018. The Summit was a collaboration between HUD and the Department of Labor, and the purpose was to promote Job Corps as a career training option for eligible residents of Public and HUD subsidized housing properties and to inform Summit participants about HUD's Section 3 Program. Section 3 requires that recipients of HUD financial assistance, to the greatest extent possible, provide training, employment, contracting and other economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons.

The audience included representatives from local businesses, agencies, public housing authorities and HUD assisted housing site managers.

Nineteen-year-old Benjamin Johnson, currently student body president of the Gulfport Center, told of being homeless before enrolling in Job Corps. After graduating from high school, Benjamin received a football scholarship to attend college. However, he lost his scholarship after failing a drug test. Having nowhere else to turn, he joined Job Corps. He will graduate from the program and enter Holmes Community College's Electrical Lineman Program in preparation for employment with Mississippi Power Company/Southern Company. He had to interview and be preselected for this program. Benjamin credits Job Corps' training and nurturing with preparing him for this next step toward his career. Says Benjamin, "Job Corps gave me the opportunity to turn my life around."

There are three Job Corps Centers located in Mississippi: The Gulfport Job Corps Center, the Mississippi Center located in Crystal Springs, and the Finch-Henry Center located in Batesville. Each Center Director gave a presentation on their respective center, and student ambassadors provided personal testimonies on how they are benefiting from Job Corps. Mississippi Field Office Director, Jerrie Magruder, and Department of Labor Regional Director/Office of Job Corps, Willie Taylor, entertained questions from the audience and discussed next steps in the partnership. Both expressed their commitment to the continued working relationship between the two agencies.

The Summit ended with a tour of the Gulfport Center led by a student ambassador. Participants were able to see Job Corps in action. They visited career training sessions, academic classes, and residential and recreational areas. Additional Summits are planned for the two other Mississippi Job Corps Centers.

HUD Mississippi Field Office Director Jerrie Magruder addresses Summit attendees

Benjamin Johnson, Gulfport student, describes opportunities provided by Job Corps

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