Officials with the state Department of Employment Security joined local and Hinds Community College officials Thursday at the Hinds Vicksburg Campus for a ribbon cutting officially opening the relocated Vicksburg WIN Job Center on the campus.

The center was moved recently from its previous location on Walnut Street to the Hinds Vicksburg campus.

The new location, said Mary Powers, workforce director for the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, provides the staff with a pleasant atmosphere to work in, and its location off Mississippi 27 makes it more accessible for people needing the center’s services.

“I feel this will afford the citizens of Vicksburg and Warren County and Claiborne County a chance to come here and be served more efficiently,” she said, adding its location on the Hinds campus provides job seekers access to programs for training.

“This is a wonderful opportunity,” Powers said. She told the officials and other guests “to spread the word. We are open for business.”

District 3 Warren County Supervisor Charles Selmon said having the WIN Job Center on the campus is an advantage for people, calling the relocated center “a one-stop shop for workforce development.”

“Everyone in Warren County and Vicksburg, we need to grab this opportunity, because only good things are going to come after this,” he said. “We’ve to make it a success.”

Dr. Chad Stocks, vice president career and technical education and workforce development at Hinds, said the new center was another step for the partnership of business, industry, Hinds and the state Employment Security Department and other agencies in their efforts to develop the state’s workforce.

After the ceremony, Vicksburg WIN Center director Jerry Jackson said having the new center at Hinds has several advantages.

“One of the most important things is the access it gets to other partners, with Hinds Community College with all the training opportunities, and with the adult education program next door, we can have the opportunity of instead referring people and telling people to call this individual and go see them, they’re right here,” he said.

It makes it easy, Jackson said, to have partners readily available to meet the needs of people looking for employment or education or need additional training to get a better job or career.

“The biggest advantage is that there are more of our partners on the same campus with us,” he said. “Instead of giving somebody a phone number and a name, we can walk them over to that person and introduce them.”