Training center to help jobless in Clarke County

By Staff
special to The Star
Jan. 10, 2003
QUITMAN Boosted by a $3.2 million grant from the Department of Labor, the Quitman WIN (Workforce Investment Network) Center will begin offering day and night GED preparation and Adult Basic Education classes on Monday.
In the next few weeks, the center also will begin to offer various computer training courses, such as Introduction to Computers, Introduction to the Internet, Microsoft Word, Excel, Computer Hardware Troubleshooting, and Web Page Design.
All courses are offered free of charge, and workers who have been hit by the layoffs at Burlington, Quitman Knitting Mills, or A&B Components will be given priority enrollment, officials said.
The Quitman WIN Center is a partnership between the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Employment Security Commission, the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District, and Jones County Junior College.
Ken Dupr, WIN Center Project Manager, is working closely with the Clarke County Board of Supervisors and potential employers to provide a broad range of training activities for the people of Clarke and the surrounding counties.
The center will also begin operating a mobile learning lab by late February in Jasper, Jones, Lauderdale, Wayne counties and surrounding counties to provide Adult Education, GED and computer classes.
In addition to computer and basic education, the center will also provide specific job skill training as needed by area businesses. In the coming weeks, training classes in welding and machining will be offered.
For more information or to enroll in training, call the WIN Job Center at (601) 776-2890.