Attorney General Jim Hood sees himself as an advocate of the working class in Mississippi, which is why he said he is dead set on making sure that there are robust alternatives to getting a four year degree in Mississippi.
“There’s just so many things here that are needed in the job skill training area that community colleges provide and that’s why I came here,” Hood said.
Hood said he plans to focus on increasing the amount of internships and apprenticeships statewide so that people have a place to start, just like he did when he interned at the Attorney General’s office years ago.
“It’s so important for these students to be able to go out in the workforce and it helps in the industry,” Hood said. “It helps in state government where we hire interns to work in the Attorney General’s office.”
Another area that Hood said he plans to tend to is providing financial aid to community college students, something that certain counties like Jackson have already jump started.
“Some counties are providing the tuition assistance program but I think we should do it statewide,” Hood said.
Hood said the state will be able to fund this with about $6 million, what he calls “chump change.”
