Above: Graduates of MGCCC’s Shipfitter Bootcamp were recognized in a ceremony on April 9. From left, the 10 graduates are Samuel Miley, Jeremy Ladnier, Christopher Carriere, Cedric Jones, Burnell Carter, Marcus Birdon, William Alexander, Jacoby Hersey, Charles Booth and Timothy Benefield.

Ten new shipfitters graduated from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Shipfitter Bootcamp on April 9 at the college’s Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center in Gulfport. Each graduate has already received at least one job offer from MGCCC industry partners who participated in a job fair at the end of the 10-week program.

Graduates of the program are Barnell Carter, Jacoby C. Hersey, William D. Alexander, Marcus A. Birdon, Jeremy S. Ladnier, Christopher Carriere, Samuel L. Miley III, Charles Booth, Cedrick Jones and Timothy Benefield.

Each bootcamp participant must pass exams to receive two welding certifications in accordance with the AWS-D1.1 structural welding code and a National Center for Construction Education certification before successfully completing the program. The program, conducted in partnership with the Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium, is funded through a National Emergency Grant.

New Shipfitter Bootcamp programs begin regularly at AMTC, with the next one beginning this week. For more information about eligibility requirements and enrollment in an upcoming program, contact Virginia Overstreet, WIA coordinator at the WIN Job Center, at (228) 897-6912 or virginia.overstreet@mgccc.edu.