VIDEO: Students Showcase Industrial Skills to Company Representatives

MAYHEW, Miss. (WCBI) – If a college student wants a leg up in job searching, it’s beneficial to go to a job fair.

At EMCC, students held their own fair of sorts, but the roles reverse.

Potential employers came to the Golden Triangle Campus in Mayhew to see what students have to offer in the world of industry.

It’s called Industry Day.

Students in Electrical and Automation Technologies show off their skills to dozens of industrial reps., making them more marketable, come graduation.

Industrial technology is becoming the future for the Golden Triangle.

At EMCC’s annual Industry Day, company reps see that future industrial employees are here too.

“We had the idea for the industries to come in and see what the students were doing here in the program, and we came up with the industry day. Our students do projects for them and let them see some of their skills and their abilities, because in the future those same industries that come here are going to be the ones that hire them,” said Electrical Technologies Instructor, Bobby Johnson.

It gives students an advantage, as businesses can put names with faces.

“We get a lot of young folks who don’t know how to network, don’t know how to approach someone who could be a possible boss someday. And so we hope to have our students have some experience networking and hopefully make some connections that will end up as jobs,” said Automation Controls Instructor, Joanna Alford.

Students and local economic developers see the importance of this showcasing opportunity.

“It’s the first impression. You get to talk with them and let them get to know you and get familiar with them, so by the time you graduate you’ll be already set up for the job,” said student, Dennis Brooks.

“I think we live in a day and age where we’ve all got a brand, and those students have to build their brand and have to identify their brand. I think so many kids may go to school and hope they have something or hope they get picked. I think these events put them in a position of being educated where they know they’re going to get picked,” said Golden Triangle Link CEO, Joe Max Higgins.

Industry Day is also a learning opportunity for instructors on what skills to teach their students.

“This is a way that we get industries to tell us their needs and they let us know what we’re doing good, what we’re not doing good, and give us some pointers,” said Alford.

The result is a job-ready workforce.

“We push out good, quality students that have excellent work ethic, and that’s what they need out here for these companies,” said Johnson.

There isn’t any need for these companies to fight over graduates.

Instructors say after this graduation period, it will be the largest group of students to come through the Electrical and Automation studies.