Innovative Training at ECCC Provide A+ Technicians

DECATUR, MS – An innovative “hybrid-online” training class at East Central Community College yielded 11 newly certified technicians for seven businesses. Three participated from Alabama. These certifications represent the pinnacle of ECCC’s commitment to providing stackable credentials to qualified workers.

"The A+ Certification is just one of the stackable, industry-recognized credentials such as the Career Readiness Certificate and the Modern Multi-Skill Manufacturing Credential being offered through the East Central’s Employee Comprehensive Certification Center or EC3,” said Roger Whitlock, Dean of Workforce Development. “This capacity was made possible through ECCC's affiliation with the WAEM Regional Initiative.”

The 11 employees completed an A+ Technician hybrid-online training class, made possible through a partnership with East Central Community College’s Workforce Development Center and the MSU Research and Curriculum Unit, and then successfully passed the CompTIA A+ Certification exam.  The latter exam was conducted at ECCC’s Distant Learning Lab that also serves as a Pearson VUE Authorized Testing Site, located on ECCC’s main campus in Decatur, MS.

“Now certified, these technicians have the ability to install, configure, diagnose, and perform preventive maintenance on computers along with basic networking skills confirmed through this international, vendor-neutral certification recognized by major hardware and software vendors, distributors, and re-sellers” said Whitlock. 

"Three of us from Alabama were only able to benefit from this class due to the creative outreach instructional format arranged through this WAEM-college/university partnership,” said Nichole D'Andrea of Thomasville, AL. “The class was made convenient, affordable and was effective in preparing us for these impressive credentials,"

David Case, ECCC Director for Technology Management, served as instructor.  For more information on this class and others being offered as a result of the WAEM Regional Initiative, contact Kyle James, ECCC Workforce Development Center Information Technology Specialist; Phone 601-635-6433 or call toll free, 1-877-462-3222, ext. 433; or Case, Phone 601-635-6354. Their email addresses are kjames@eccc.edu or dcase@eccc.edu.