Hinds Community College Blog

Do You Possess These Skills?

• Business skills. They must manage every aspect of their business. This includes reaching out to prospective clients, handling their finances, and advertising their services.

• Interpersonal skills. Strong interpersonal skills are essential for employees in business and marketing management, because they spend much of their time interacting with supervisors, staff and clients. To attract and keep clients, they must be pleasant, enthusiastic, and trustworthy. 

• Organizational skills. Business and marketing managers must be able to work independently, managing their own time and organizing, planning, and prioritizing their work.

If you answered yes, then you possess some of the skills needed to be successful in the world of marketing management. Other skills used in this industry are computer skills as well as proficiency using social media of all forms. Business and marketing managers must have excellent oral and written communication skills as well as the ability to establish and maintain personal relationships with supervisors, staff members and clients.  It is beneficial for persons in this field to be mature, creative, highly motivated, flexible and decisive. 

What Marketing Managers Do?

Marketing involves creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging ideas, goods, or services that have value to customers and is one of the major components of business management. The success of a business is crucial to understanding the importance of marketing. At some point in an individual’s career they will most likely engage in activities related to marketing. 

Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers coordinate their companies' market research, marketing strategy, sales, advertising, promotion, pricing, product development, and public relations activities. In small firms, the owner might assume all responsibilities while in large firms an executive vice president directs overall advertising, marketing, promotions, sales, and public relations policies. 

Will I Be Able To Find Employment?

In every business around the globe, regardless of type, marketing and management is the root of them all. All businesses buy and sell products or services of some type. They advertise, conduct community public relations, manage employees and business operations, and utilize computer technologies through the Internet, inventory systems, multimedia, social media, and e-commerce.  If not for marketing and management, the standard of living we all enjoy throughout the country would not exist. 

In fact, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security projects 3,320 new jobs in Sales and Related Occupations for the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area through 2018 with first-line supervisors/managers earning an entry-level wage of $11.38 to $19.32 per hour as of April 2012.  MDES also projects 130 new jobs by 2018 in Management Occupations with entry-level wage estimates at $19.27 per hour or $40,080 per year.  Professional positions and the opportunities for advancement are unlimited for those with initiative and ability. 

Need More Information?

The Marketing Management Technology program of study is designed to provide specialized occupational instruction in management, e-business, advertising, public relations, human resources, professional sales, and multimedia presentations.  In the program, students design advertising campaigns, create a business plan for opening a new business, create a corporate training manual, develop PowerPoint presentations for business, and utilize numerous additional hands-on learning projects related to business and marketing.

This program is located on the Rankin and Raymond campuses of Hinds Community College.  For more information about the Raymond Campus Marketing Management program, contact Ebony Robinson via email at Ebony.Robinson@hindscc.edu or by phone at 601.857.3228.  For more information about the Rankin Campus Marketing Management program, contact Jane Foreman via email at JEForeman@hindscc.edu) or by phone at 601.936.5502. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Do you possess communication skills, creativity, a competitive spirit and strong visualization skills? If you answered yes to any of these qualities, you should explore Fashion Merchandising as a career path. 

Fashion Merchandising is a program of study designed to provide specialized instruction in all phases of fashion merchandising in order to prepare students for careers in the fashion and its related professions such as manager, wardrobe consultant, buyer, sales representative, visual merchandiser and boutique owner.  A combination of classwork and practical experience is stressed. In the program, students sketch fashion designs, create a fashion line, design fashion trend boards, apply various makeup application techniques, design digital fashion makeovers, create textiles, sample box and create numerous other fashion projects. Some students also take an introductory sewing class.  

What Fashion Merchandisers Do?

Fashion merchandising jobs require a blend of fashion, marketing, and business expertise. Fashion merchandising incorporates all of the processes in the fashion business ranging from producing, product development, promoting, and buying and selling fashion items, such as clothing, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, and shoes. Essentially, fashion merchandisers select items to purchase that are then sold in their stores, creatively display products to customers, and develop other strategies to resourcefully market their merchandise. A fashion merchandiser may work for a textile manufacturer, a designer, or a fashion retail store.

Where Are The Jobs In This Field?

According to the Mississippi Department of Labor, jobs in retail trades are projected to be the second highest area of job growth in Mississippi over the next ten years with approximately 5,000 new jobs being created in Central Mississippi in retail, clothing, accessories, and general merchandise stores. In fact, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security projects 3,320 new jobs in Sales and Related Occupations for the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area through 2018 with first-line supervisors/managers earning an entry-level wage of $11.38 to $19.32 per hour as of April 2012. MDES also projects 1300 new jobs by 2018 in Management Occupations with entry-level wage estimates at $19.27 per hour or $40,080 per year. High energy professional fashion positions and the opportunities for advancement are unlimited for those with initiative and ability.

Need More Information?

This program is located on the Rankin and Raymond campuses of Hinds Community College.  For more information about the Fashion Merchandising program located on the Raymond campus, contact Ebony Robinson (Ebony.Robinson@hindscc.edu) at 601.857.3228.  For more information about the program on the Rankin campus, contact Jane Foreman (JEForeman@hindscc.edu) at 601.936.5502. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? From a young age it was just understood that I was going to college. I would have to figure out what I wanted to be but, I was going. College wasn’t an option; it was just an afterthought...an extension of high school you might say. It would be where I would learn to make a living because everyone works these days. With that being said, you need some common knowledge to know which career path to go down. 

• Analytical skills

• Detail oriented

• Math and computer skills

• Mechanical skills

• Stamina

• Technical skills

If you answered "yes" to any of these qualities, Machine Tool Technology might just be the career option for you.

• Work from computer-aided design (CAD) or computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) files,  blueprints, or sketches

• Set up, operate, and tear down manual, automatic, or computer numeric controlled (CNC) machine tools

• Install, align, secure, and adjust cutting tools and work pieces

• Monitor the feed and speed of machines

• Turn, mill, drill, shape, and grind machine parts to specifications

• Measure, examine, and test completed products for defects

• Compute and verify dimensions, sizes, shapes, and tolerances of work pieces

• File, grind, and adjust parts so that they fit together properly

• Test completed tools or dies to ensure that they meet specifications

• Inspect for proper dimensions and defects

• Smooth and polish surfaces of tools and dies

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job opportunities for machinists and tool and die makers should be excellent as employers continue to value the skills of these workers.  Employers in certain parts of the country including Mississippi report difficulty attracting skilled workers and apprenticeship candidates with the abilities necessary to fill job openings. Manufacturers continue to rely heavily on skilled machinists as they invest in new equipment, modify production techniques, and implement product design changes more rapidly. Machinists are still necessary to set up, monitor and maintain automated CNC machine tools.  Typical jobs filled by students who have completed this program include apprentice machinists, production machinists and maintenance machinists. 

Need More Information?

This program is located on the Raymond campus of Hinds Community College.  For more information, contact Norman Trimble via email at Norman.Trimble@hindscc.edu or give him a call at 601.857.3423. 

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. 

 

Students enrolled in the Diesel Equipment Technology program at Hinds Community College on the Raymond campus may choose to combine their classroom experience with actual on-the-job training by enrolling in DET 2923, Supervised Work Experience during their last semester.  So what are the benefits of this type of class? Experience, Career Development, Reinforced Learning, College Credit and Money! Now money is not the primary purpose of any type of supervised on-the-job experience, but it certainly does help.

John Temple, a Diesel Equipment Technology student, is currently employed with Magnolia Marine in Vicksburg, Mississippi while completing his degree requirements. John works on barges servicing and maintaining diesel engines. Temple was able to land the job with a two-year degree from our community college. 

For half the cost of a four year education, John has the potential to make up to $70,000 per year (equal or in many instances more than those possessing a bachelors or master’s degree in other fields). According to USA TODAY, an estimated 2.5 million new, middle-skill jobs like John’s are expected to be added to the workforce by 2017. These middle-skill jobs will make up 40% of all job growth. 

Community colleges offer career-tech programs, which provide training for many of these positions which require far less than a bachelor’s degree. Hinds offers over 70 career or technical programs which train for these high-wage, high-skill and high-demand jobs.  Students may choose to earn a career certificate in just 30 hours, technical certificate in 45 or an Associate of Applied Science with 60 hours.

This past week, John traveled to Greenville, Ms. to work on barges undergoing Coast Guard inspections. Among his duties were to make sure the emergency shut off to the engine was working properly and to remove air in the fuel line of a diesel pump engine. Both barges passed the Coast Guard inspections with flying colors for river trips. Later that week, Temple overhauled an engine in their shop. 

Did you know that Magnolia Marine operates the largest inland waterways asphalt transportation fleet in the United States? Their fleet consists of 20 towboats and more than 75 barges which move product throughout the Mississippi River system as well as the intracoastal waterways of the Gulf of Mexico. 

Watch Mike Rowe’s Where The Jobs Are!

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/10/14/16261275/