Hinds Community College Blog

What do you want in a career? Do you have good eye-hand coordination?  Do you enjoy taking things apart and reassembling them? Are you good at troubleshooting and figuring out why something is not working?  What about technical instructions, can you follow them? If you answered yes to these questions, then the Industrial Maintenance Trades program at Hinds Community College might be the career for you!

Industrial Maintenance is a career–technical program designed to prepare students for entry-level employment as multi-skilled maintenance technicians. Industrial maintenance trade technicians are responsible for:

• Reading technical manuals to understand equipment and controls

• Disassembling machinery and equipment when there is a problem

• Repairing or replacing broken or malfunctioning components

• Performing tests and running initial batches to make sure that the machine is running smoothly

• Adjusting and calibrating equipment and machinery to optimal specifications

• Detecting minor problems by performing basic diagnostic tests

• Cleaning and lubricating equipment or machinery

• Checking the performance of machinery

• Testing malfunctioning machinery to determine whether major repairs are needed

• Adjusting equipment and resetting or calibrating sensors and controls

Industrial machinery mechanics and maintenance workers maintain and repair factory equipment and other industrial machinery, such as conveying systems, production machinery, and packaging equipment.

Will I Be Able To Find A Job?

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, overall employment of industrial maintenance workers is projected to grow 17% through 2022. Employment growth will vary by specialty. The increased use of sophisticated manufacturing machinery and computer-controlled machines in factories and manufacturing plants should drive the demand for industrial maintenance technicians. 

Typical job placement in this field can be found with industrial or commercial employers in positions such as mechanical/electrical repair and preventative maintenance. 

Additional Certifications:

The Industrial Maintenance Technology Program works with the Mississippi Construction Education Foundation to provide national construction education certification to its students for Core, IMM Level 1 and IMM Level 2. 

Need More Information?

This program is located on the Raymond campus of Hinds Community College. For more information, contact Randy Wilson at RLWilson@hindscc.edu or give him a call at 601.857.3317. 

Most people know the basics about Hinds Community College.

For example, we all know Hinds CC is affordable ($1,200 per semester for full-time, in state students) and convenient (6 locations serving Claiborne, Copiah, Hinds, Rankin and Warren counties). However, Hinds Community College is much more than your average community college.

Here are 5 things you didn't know about Hinds CC:

1. Hinds Community College is the largest community college in Mississippi and the fourth largest higher education institution in the state. 
   

   Hinds Community College offers 170 academic programs guaranteed to transfer to a university, more than 70 career and technical program options and 14 nursing and allied health programs. If you can't find something to study at Hinds, check your pulse. 
   
   

2. Hinds Community College is the only community college in Mississippi with its own airport.
   
   The John Bell Williams airport is located in Bolton and is home our Aviation Department (Aviation Technology, Commercial Aviation and Unmanned Aircraft Systems programs). Our UAS program was even featured on FOXBusiness!
   
   
3. The Hinds Community College Hi-Steppers are one of the oldest precision dance lines in the United States. 
   
   Founded in 1953, the Hi-Steppers are known as Mississippi’s Goodwill Ambassadors. No group in the U.S. has received more invitations to nationally televised bowl games, professional football games, or national parades than the Hi-Steppers.
    
4. Hinds Community College has won the Halbrook Award in the community college division for the 14^th time since 1987. 
   

   The Halbook Award is given each year at the Mississippi Association of Colleges annual conference to the college having the highest number of student-athletes who graduated or completed class work. Hinds posted a 96% graduation/completion rate among its student-athletes in 2013-2014. 
   
   

5. Hinds Community College's Utica Campus (formerly Utica Junior College) was founded in 1903 and still retains its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU ) status and traditions. 
   
   Some of Utica's most treasured traditions include Founder's Day, Annual Thanksgiving Dinner and Coronation Ball. 
   
    

What do you want to be when you grow up? Some people are lucky and find the perfect career right off the bat, but many of us try different jobs and career paths, hoping the next one will be “it”.  Don’t let chance decide what the best career path is for you, research the possibilities! Use your friends and family to introduce you to acquaintances employed in positions that peak your interest.

Are you friendly, polite and punctual? Those are all customer service skills which are important when dealing with the public.  What about detail oriented?  Well maintained records of work is a plus in some career paths.  Are you mechanically adept and able to identify problems and then determine how to repair them?  Those are troubleshooting skills that are essential to many career paths.  These are all qualities that are important to HVACR technicians. 

The Heating and Air Conditioning Technology program at Hinds Community College is designed to prepare individuals to work in engineering departments or private firms installing, maintaining, and operating small or medium air conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems. It also prepares individuals to work in a commercial setting performing special tasks relating to designing ductwork, assembly, installation, servicing, operation, and maintenance of heating and cooling systems according to industry standards.   Included are air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration devices; equipment, techniques, and systems; and maintenance and operation of these systems.

What Do HVAC Technicians Do?

• Install or repair HVACR systems using blueprints or design specifications

• Connect systems to fuel and water supply lines, air ducts, and other components

• Install and test electrical wiring and controls for proper operation

• Inspect and maintain customers’ HVACR systems

• Determine necessary repairs by testing individual components

• Repair or replace worn or defective parts

• Make recommendations to improve efficiency

• Travel to worksites

Will I Be Able To Find A Job?  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers is projected to grow 21 percent through 2022. This increase is being driven by commercial and residential construction. Sophisticated climate-control systems are also increasing the demand for qualified HVACR technicians as is the need for replacement of systems which typically need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years. 

Job opportunities for HVACR technicians are expected to be excellent, particularly for those who have completed training at an accredited technical school or through an apprenticeship. Candidates with the best job opportunities will be those familiar with computers and electronics, as well as those who have developed troubleshooting skills. Typical jobs filled by students who have completed this program at Hinds include apprentice HVACR technicians.

Need More Information?

This program is located on the Raymond campus of Hinds Community College. For more information on the HVAC program, contact Eddie Carson (WECarson@hindscc.edu) or Pat Granger (Michael.Granger@hindscc.edu) or call them at 601.857.3319. 

What do you want to do when you grow up? Jobs are temporary, but careers are life plans.  Are you a little bit nervous about choosing a career? Choose your career based upon what you want after researching the careers that interest you. Be realistic. Don’t make your decision based upon what someone else wants you to be! 

Do you possess good communication and basic computer skills? Are you competent in basic math?  Do you pay attention to detail? Do you possess mechanical aptitude? If your answer is yes to these questions, you should explore printing technicians and related fields as a career option. 

Graphics and Print Communication prepares individuals to engage in entry level positions in the graphic arts field by providing classroom instruction and laboratory experiences using equipment and software comparable to that found in industry. Students learn industry terminology, history, and theory. They develop fundamental process skills in operations related to graphic and print design, paste-up and layout, film assembly, platemaking, press operations, and binding and finishing.

Artists, writers, graphic designers and office workers all depend on printing technicians to reproduce their work. Read on to learn about the job duties and training requirements for printing technicians, and find information about job growth and salary that can help you make an informed career and educational decision.

Will I Be Able To Find A Job?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of print related positions will experience steady demand, including print logistics (labels, wrappers, and packaging) and print marketing (catalogs and direct mail). Typical jobs for students who have completed this program include apprentice pre-press technicians and workers, printing press operators and print binding and finishing workers

What Do Printers Do?

• Arrange pages so that materials can be printed

• Operate laser platemaking equipment in order to convert electronic data to plates

• Determine quantities to be printed, paper specifications, colors, and special printing instructions

• Adjust equipment controls and feed paper through press cylinders

• Identify any needed adjustments by inspecting random samples during print runs

• Use hand tools such as bone folders, knives, hammers, or brass binding tools to bind new books

• Fitting and gluing material to binder boards by hand or machine by cutting material to specified dimensions

• Compress sewed or glued sets of pages by using hand presses or smashing machines

*The printing process has three stages: prepress, press, and binding or finishing. In small print shops, the same person may take care of all three stages. However, in most print shops workers specialize in one of these three stages:

Need More Information?

This program is located on the Raymond campus of Hinds Community College.  For more information on the Graphic Print Communications program, contact Jim Porch at JCPorch@hindscc.edu and/or 601.857.3319. 

Who in Mississippi hasn’t heard of James Meredith? Especially if you went to Ole Miss.

The civil rights icon is best known for integrating the University of Mississippi in 1962 but the attorney and educator is also the author of 27 books. He and some of his family members were at Hinds Community College’s Jackson Campus-Academic/Technical Center on Nov. 7 to speak to a crowd of Hinds students and employees as well as students from three local high schools. 

Sponsored by the M2M program that is aimed at boosting the minority male student graduation rate at Hinds, the presentation was called “A Conversation with James Meredith.” It’s basically the same speech Meredith gave at a Harvard Graduate School of Education graduation in May 2013.

Meredith didn’t talk about his struggle integrating Ole Miss, or the “March against Fear” in 1966 when he was shot by a sniper.

Instead from the pulpit at JATC, Meredith preached a message about responsibility. About being your brother’s keeper. About being the Good Samaritan. About the role of the black church in saving young people. About being the responsible elder who looks after the young folk.

I don’t know whether the crowd of mostly teenage male students got the message, but I’m sure it’s one the older people in the audience heard.

Meredith said it’s up to the elders to follow the lead of the Good Samaritan and not be afraid to help the youth. “The only way to solve the problem of the youth is for the elders to always do their job,” he said.

As he was speaking, I wondered if the students in the room really understood the significance of what they were hearing or the person talking. But maybe they’ll remember his message: personal responsibility