Gulfport Mississippi Vocational and Trade Schools, Colleges

 

Gulfport is known for being the second largest city in Mississippi just after the state capital of Jackson, Mississippi. Gulfport is the larger of two principal cities in the metropolitan statistical area includes the entire Gulfport-Biloxi- Pascagoula region. A 2010 census estimated that the total population in Gulfport was roughly 67,793 individuals. The city of Gulfport shares a county seat with Biloxi of Harrison County, Mississippi. Gulfport is also known for being the headquarters of the US Navy Atlantic Fleet Seabees.

 

The population density in Gulfport, Mississippi is roughly 1191.4 individuals per square mile. Known as a great city for young professionals, the city had an estimated population of roughly 50,825 individuals at the age of 18 or above or roughly 74.97% of the general population. Racially speaking, the city breaks down into roughly 56.86% white, 36.07% African-American and zero 39% Native American with a 1.69% Asian population and 0.14% Pacific Islander population. Any more recent years, the city has shown a 5.19% growth to a Hispanic/Latino population.

 

In contrast with a 2000 census, a 2010 census showed the city's population went down while the number of housing units rose. This can be shifted to Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed many local houses and displaced many families. Gulfport's new housing development and redevelopment post hurricane damage is one of the major forces in the city's current infrastructure and housing market. As of 2010 the roughly 31,602 housing units with an average density of roughly 555 per square mile. Roughly 83% of houses were occupied with an average of two people per housing unit.

 

Start Your Education in Gulfport

 

The City of Gulfport is a major driving force in the educational structure of Mississippi. The presence of the Gulfport School District and the Harrison County School District adds to local infrastructure and employs many qualified educators and faculty while serving the greater community. The Jefferson Davis Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College also maintains its operational headquarters in the city of Gulfport. Before Hurricane Katrina struck the area, William Carey University offered a prominent satellite campus in Gulfport. Currently, the satellite campus was reconstructed off highways 67 in Mississippi just north of Harrison County.

 

The Gulf Park Campus of the University of Southern Mississippi is also located along Long Beach, directly west of Gulfport. Since 2012, many renovations and repairs to this campus building house assisted in its reconstruction and academic excellence post Katrina. Weighed against national averages, Gulfport Mississippi offers affordable education to individuals looking for trade/vocational training or professional degrees. The average school in Gulfport spends roughly $10,578 per student and the teacher to student ratios roughly 17 pupils for every teacher and 576 students per librarian. There are many useful resources to explore in the Gulfport area in terms of higher education and career development.

 

Top Career Niches

 

Gulfport's local newspaper, the Sun Herad and the two major television affiliates in the area, ABC affiliate WLOX and CBS on WLOX-DT2, the Fox affiliate WXXV, provide the backbone of Gulfport's media infrastructure. Radio affiliates also include
WXXV, Channel 25.2 and NBC 25, an NBC affiliate. In total, there are seven radio stations operating out of the Gulfport area.

 

A popular career niche in the Gulfport area is the military sector including many facets of the Air Force, Coast Guard, US Navy and combat Navy. The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport serves the Gulfport/Biloxi area and provides an excellent transportation resource for locals and tourists. Several military installations based at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport include the Naval Construction Battalion Center (U.S. Navy), the 890th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy), a unit of the 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi Army National Guard, the 1108th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group (TASMG) (U.S. Army), 255th Air Control Squadron (Air Force/Mississippi Air National Guard, 209th Civil Engineer Squadron(Air Force/Mississippi Air National Guard), U.S. Coast Guard and the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center (Mississippi Air National Guard).

 

Law enforcement is another prominent sector in Gulfport to the strong of local, statewide and federal law enforcement. MEMA and FEMA both maintain operational headquarters in Gulfport, Mississippi. Additionally, the Gulfport Police Department has roughly 170 sworn officers and 80 civilian staff members serving the city. Police training and law-enforcement studies are prominent career niches in Gulfport.

 

U.S. Coast Guard is one of Gulfport's driving forces with nine operational boats, four of which are patrol boats. The Gulfport Coast Guard station has an average of 110 members including active, reserve and Coast Guard auxiliary workers who respond to roughly 300 annual search and rescue cases. Another important realm of civil service in Gulfport is fire protection and EMS. Founded in 1908, the Gulfport Fire Department provides HAZMAT response, technical rescue services, fire suppression and other emergency services to 11 active fire stations. Staffed by professional firefighters, the Gulfport fire department also works in conjunction with the American Medical Response to respond to EMS emergencies. Vocational and career training in such fields, while more labor-intensive is one of the most reliable forms of employment in the city.

 

Vocational Schools & Colleges in Gulfport, MS

 

Miller-Motte Technical College-Gulfport: this accredited college in Gulfport, Mississippi gained its accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. The college is accredited to award certificates, associates degrees and diplomas. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) also nationally recognizes this technical college for accreditation. Miller-Motte Technical College has been formally recognized by the American Medical Technologists (AMT), a nationally based certification agency for allied health professionals. Students can complete certification and degree programs in medical billing and coding, medical assisting, medical administration and office assistant programs and prepare for all of the appropriate AMT exams. The average expected salary for the attending undergraduate is roughly 26,700 year as of the year 2013 an undergraduate tuition and fees for roughly $10,500 as of 2014. The average annual cost for student receiving federal aid is roughly $19,395 as of 2013. Located at 12121 US 49, Gulfport, MS 39503, this college can be reached at: (228) 351-9003 or found on the web at: http://www.miller-motte.edu.

 

Blue Cliff College, Gulfport: this comprehensive career training college in Gulfport, Mississippi offers all programs through providing hands-on experience and networking with knowledgeable faculty and staff. Faculty and staff tale from Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi and are dedicated to providing students with the best educational experiences possible and the most applicable knowledge and skills to go to work in their chosen fields with. The college offers a wide array of certificates and diplomas including clinical medical assisting diplomas, clinical and administrative medical assistant program student on extension, continuing education (a series of single courses), cosmetology diplomas, cosmetology instructor training diplomas, dental assisting diplomas, dialysis technician diplomas, esthetic diplomas, health information management, billing and coding diplomas (via campus and online), HVAC diplomas and massage therapy diplomas and Associates degrees. The college's graduation rate was roughly 75.9% as of 2014 in the average salary for attending undergraduates was roughly $23,700. The average annual cost for students receiving federal aid was roughly $23,052. Located at 12251 Bernard Pkwy Gulfport, MS 39503, Gulfport, MS 39503, this college can be reached at: (800) 514-0469 or found on the web at: http://bluecliffcollege.edu.

 

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College: this community colleges located in Harrison County, Mississippi. Initially founded as Harrison County Agricultural High School in 1912, MGCCC now maintains three campuses and five operational headquarters. While the main campus is located in Parkinson, Harrison County, there also campuses in Jackson County and Jefferson Davis Campus located in Gulfport. Within the Gulfport campus, students may attend the Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Center in Gulfport, the Keesler Center at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi or the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.MGCCC additionally offers a community campuses work for space programs including on-site and online educational programs to residents and employers within Southern Mississippi. With a strong athletic presence, the college has a prominent athletic team known as the Bulldogs. The sports team competes strongly in the Mississippi Community College Athletic Conference in basketball, soccer, golf, tennis, football, baseball and softball.The graduation rate for this college was roughly 44.1% as of 2014 in the average salary for attending undergrad was roughly $27,200 as of 2013. Overall undergraduate tuition and fees for in-state students was roughly $2732 as of 2014 and $4578 for out-of-state students. Located at 2226 Switzer Rd. Gulfport, MS 39507, this college can be reached at: (228) 896-3355 or found on the web at: https://www.mgccc.edu.

 

Rhodes Corinthian Colleges: this large for-profit secondary education company offers many career-oriented diplomas and degree programs in fields including business, transportation, healthcare, criminal justice, technology and maintenance, information technology and construction trades.As of 2013, this cooperative of universities employs roughly 15,200 employees across North America and 6000 full-time and part-time faculty members. The Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC), has nationally accredited the institution.Located at 14231 Seaway Rd Ste 5001 Gulfport, MS 39503, this chapter of the national university system can be reached at: (228) 867-1905 or found on the web at: http://www.cci.edu.

 

Top Industries

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, some of the top industries in Gulfport requiring minimal career training or to your professional degrees include financial analysts, public relations and fundraising managers, engineering, nursing, postal Service workers, training and development specialists, mechanics, law enforcement officers, health specialists, accountants and auditors, first line supervisors, nonretail sales workers, construction and building inspectors, educators and vocational counselors, teaming supervisors, radiology technicians and first-line supervisors for police/transportation/material moving. For those interested in working in the medical field or technical field, students can look forward to a fast-paced and analytical training program including courses in digital marketing, data analysis, HTML, CSS, web design, user experience design and other boot Style courses. The local technical colleges work hard to keep up with the fast-paced world of medicine, technology and health.

 

Job Growth in Gulfport, Mississippi

Since the year 2000, there were roughly 26,943 households in Gulfport, Mississippi. Of these houses, roughly 32.1% had children under the age of 18 and 42.6% were married couples living together while 18.2% had female single householders without a husband present and 34.5% were not families. The income per capita for the city was roughly $17,554, slightly below the national average. Especially after Hurricane Katrina, the number of families living at or below the poverty line grew.

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport was one of the areas of Gulfport that saw extensive damages result of Hurricane Katrina. However, a major renovation project has been driven subsequently and is almost completed. The resuming of commercial air service and new airlines has added greatly to Gulfport local infrastructure. As of 2016, Gulfport's unemployment rate was roughly 7.50% with a job growth rate of 1.63%. The future projected job growth over the next decade was estimated around 35.75%. Gulfport sales tax rate is roughly 7% with an income tax of 5%. Weighed against the national averages, Gulfport's local economy breaks down as follows:

According the 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, for the city of Gulfport, the top employers in the city were the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Memorial Hospital, Harrison County School District, Island View Casino, Hancock Bank, Gulfport School District, Mississippi Power, Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, Gulf Ship, LLC, and Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center. The tourism industry of Gulfport has been one of the city’s top industries since its beginnings. From its humble start as a lumber port, Gulfport has evolved into a very diversified city. In close proximity to the white sand beaches near the Gulf of Mexico, Gulfport is a popular tourist destination due to its close proximity also to the Mississippi's Coast Casinos. Gulfport is home to many popular cultural events including the "World's Largest Fishing Rodeo," "Cruisin' the Coast" (a classic cars week) and "Smokin' the Sound" (speedboat races). With a thriving local community and a strong mercantile presence, many of golf sports historic neighborhoods and home sites provide excellent opportunities for certified retailers, small businesses, restaurants, motels and other hospitality industry workers. Gulfport is full of motels and accommodations dedicated to accommodating tourists, gamblers, golfers, water sports enthusiasts and more.

 

Top sectors in Gulfport’s local infrastructure include healthcare, education, construction, gaming, utilities and financial services. Additional major employers in the Gulfport metropolitan area include Huntington Ingalls, Keesler Air Force Base
Chevron USA, Inc. Pascagoula Refinery, Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, Singing River Health System, the Harrison County School District, VT Halter Marine, Inc.,
VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, IP Casino Resort Spa, Signal International Jackson, Hancock Bank, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and Gulfport School District.

 

Sources

Harrison County Development Commission. “Mississippi Coast Major Employers.” May 2015.
http://mscoast.org/industry/major_employers/ms_coast

http://www.gulfport-ms.gov/education.shtml