NEMCC Holds ‘Signing Day’ For ‘Tiger Apprenticeship’ Program

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Career and Tech students at Northeast Mississippi Community College committed to area business as part of a unique signing day.

For this signing day, students commit, to local companies.

Twenty five students were part of signing day for the “Tiger Apprenticeship ” program.

“They met one on one with the companies they will be employed with.  They will begin in the spring, and they will go to school a couple of days a week and work two to three days a week with these individual companies,” said Jason Mattox, associate vice president for Career and Tech education at NEMCC.

The goal is to help students put into practice what they are learning in the classroom and give them valuable experience for whichever career path they choose.

“The field we’re in, without that experience, you can’t learn in a classroom what you get out of actual real world experience, working with your hands and learning it yourself,” said Matthew Loveless.

“I think it’s important to have real world experience, job experience, to make contacts at local and global companies, I think it will help me in the long run,” said Zach Carpenter.

Fifteen companies are taking part in the “Tiger Apprenticeship ” Program.  Booneville based ACCO Brands is always on the lookout for employees with specific skills.

“It’s getting more challenging as the world is figuring lower labor rates in the south, Memphis being the distribution hub of the United States, that’s a couple of our advantages why we have been successful, other industries are coming to the south, it puts a strain on finding technical skilled people,” said Leigh Cole, of ACCO.

This is the first year for the apprenticeship program at NEMCC, instructors and companies expect robust growth in the future.

Three Rivers Planning and Development District is another partner in the initiative.