McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings announced Wednesday a new partnership between Southwest Mississippi Community College and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula promising well-paying jobs on the Coast after only a 12-week training program at Southwest.
Rawlings said an Ingalls representative had visited him and shared the news that Ingalls, with 11,500 employees, seeks to expand its workforce to 15,000.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is the state’s largest industrial employer, producing a variety of vessels for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.
Rawlings enthusiastically touted the new training program’s short length and lucrative compensation and benefits guaranteed upon completion.
“They’ve got a document that says you can go to work at Ingalls the next day at $17.19 per hour, with a full, complete benefit package, plus a signing bonus to help you get set up in your apartment,” he said. “With another six weeks of training you’re coming out as a shipfitter, and in 21⁄2 years you can be at $27 an hour.”
Rawlings said the Ingalls representative had told him the company has a $22 billion backlog of government work.
Catching up on the backlog, Rawlings said, was a part of “making America great again.”
Although the new partnership is designed to lure skilled workers away from Pike County, Rawlings set its desirability in the context of the area’s unemployment.
“We’ve got 750 unemployed people here in Pike County, and it’s an opportunity for some of them right there,” he said. “I wish (the training program) were in Pike County, but they’re going to be happy. They’ve got a certified instructor ready to go, and it’s an incredible package there for young men and women looking for work.”
The city board met Wednesday morning instead of its usual Tuesday evening because City Hall was closed Monday and Tuesday for Christmas.
In other business, the board:
• Reappointed Oliver W. Smith to the McComb-Pike County Airport Board for a five-year term. The vote for Smith was unanimous, so the board did not vote on the candidacy of Tarika P. Matthews, who had also requested appointment.
• Appointed two new police officers — James Ervin, a former Marine who attended McComb and North Pike schools, and Bobby Enlow, whose father, Scott, is a former McComb firefighter and Pike County Constable.
• Accepted donations totaling $125 from Steve W. and Amanda Bates for the McComb Animal Shelter.
• Approved a semiannual clothing allowance of $500 each for McComb police detectives Shannon Sullivan, Deska Varnado, Sidney Boyte and Victoria Carter, and narcotics agent Jason Duncan.
• Approved a $17,540.99 payment to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office for the housing of city prisoners in July. Selectman Ronnie Brock noted that, while most prisoners’ names and personal information were redacted from the invoice for privacy reasons, several prisoners’ information was left visible.
• Renewed an agreement with First Bank to hold city accounts for 2018 and 2019. State Bank was the only other institution to submit a proposal, but First Bank’s terms, including fees and interest paid, were deemed better by the board.
Lester Butler, a crew leader in the public works department, received recognition for 20 years of service, although after the mayor read a certificate of appreciation, Butler corrected him, noting that with previous service he had actually spent 26 years on the city payroll.
“How many more?” Rawlings asked.
“About a year,” Butler deadpanned, drawing laughs in the boardroom.
