Transitions Academy Encourages Students to Learn Trade

High school dropouts now have the opportunity to go back to school free of charge to earn their G.E.D. and learn a trade. The Transitions Academy, a new program at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (M.G.C.C.C.) in Long Beach, strives to push more young people into the work force.

Jasmine White, 20, is a high school dropout, but is now on her way to earning both her G.E.D. and welding certificate from M.G.C.C.C.’s Transitions Academy. White says, “Welding, I said, ‘I can do that,’ and I’m a girl and it was just a bunch of men, so I was like ‘Yeah, I’m gonna’ go do that. I’m a girl, I’m gonna’ go out with the big dogs.’”

The welding program is one of two concentrations in the Transitions Academy, the other being early childhood development. The one semester academy is free of charge and students who complete the program will have nationally recognized certifications in their respective area. Becky Layton, Director of Adult Basic Education, says, “There is a need for these students. So many of them left school. They did not complete high school or their G.E.D.s, but they also need to get jobs to support families, so this is a real need in our community right now.”

Once these students complete the program, they will have both their welding certificate and their G.E.D. Local shipyards have said with both of these, they will most certainly have employment opportunities. Kimothy Lizana, a welding instructor, says, “There have been shipyards that have spoken up and said if they pass this program, both the G.E.D., everything, the whole package combined, they will hire them on.”

Students who don’t choose to go into the workforce right away also have the option to further their education towards an Associate’s Degree at M.G.C.C.C. Students like White are grateful for this opportunity and recommend it to others in similar situations. White closes, “You’re gonna’ get it right. No matter what, you’re gonna’ get it right and then at the end, it’s gonna’ pay off, literally it’s gonna’ pay off.”

White hasn’t decided whether she will go to work at a shipyard right away or continue to work toward her Associate’s Degree, but the one thing she is sure of is that this was the second chance she desperately needed. Enrollment is now open for the next semester of Transitions Academy, which begins in January.