A group of students at Copiah-Lincoln Community College are getting a leg up on the competition with some on-the-job training in construction.

     Instructor Joey Chassion’s heavy construction equipment class is doing the site preparation work for the storm shelter being built on Belt Line Road near the Lincoln County Civic Center. The shelter will serve people in the event of an evacuation or disaster.

     The project is giving the students an opportunity to get out in the field and add to their resumes.

     “They’re learning how to stay on boundary stakes and stripping and clearing,” he said. “It’s all part of the job.”

     Chassion said the site prep work should be finished in the next couple of weeks, and he expects the contractor to begin moving in dirt within the next week or so.

     The building has been in the works for several years and Chassion said the level of planning is evident.

     “They put a lot of thought into it,” he said of the structure. “It’s really going to be self-sufficient.”

     The 14 students in the class are in the first and second semesters of the one-year vocational program and are all learning the skills working side-by-side.

     Chassion said the type of work they’re doing now is great for the students, with the shelter project serving to motivate them and keep them focused.

     “They love this,” he said. “It makes it easier for me because the students tend to get there early, and that allows us to get started earlier and get more things done. That shows a lot about their willingness to learn and get the best experience they can get.”

     Getting hands-on work in the field allows the students to really show what they’ve learned, said Chassion.

     “It will help make them be more prepared for work when they finish at Co-Lin,” he said.

     Chassion said the job market is stable for this type of work, as nearly every project needs some type of site prep work or heavy equipment.

     Chassion’s students routinely participate in projects like the shelter, he said. His students have done work at the Berean Children’s Home, helped with the softball fields at West Lincoln and Wesson attendance centers and also were involved with the new shooting range for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

     The recession has worked to send more people back to school over the past few years, and Chassion said that is going on at Co-Lin as well.

     “I’ve had my classes full recently,” he said. “We’ve got a waiting list to get in right now. The recession helped no doubt. There’s been an increase in interest since Hurricane Katrina.”