Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Anyone 18 years old and older interested in a coding career can apply now for a free six-month class offered in Natchez.

On Jan. 6, Mississippi Coding Academies plans to open its newest campus at Alcorn State University’s Business Center, located off of Colonel John Pitchford Parkway in Natchez.

The six-month course runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Robert “Bob” Buseck Jr., a Natchez native, is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Mississippi Coding Academies based in Jackson.

This will be the fifth campus since MCA was founded in 2017, with other campuses in Columbus, Biloxi, Clarksdale and Jackson, Buseck said.

“We’re a 501(C)3 nonprofit that focuses on the underserved populace of Mississippi and bringing emerging technologies and education to areas where it doesn’t exist,” he said. “Our coding campus is kind of unique, where there’s no cost to students.”

The Natchez academy will provide hands-on instruction to students in technology-based careers such as the creation of computer software, mobile applications, web page development, cyber security, artificial intelligence and “a gamut of technologies that are used in every industry out there today,” Buseck said.

“Since 2017 when we started, we’ve graduated 300 plus folks from Mississippi and abroad, and we’re seeing folks staying right here in Mississippi start (with salaries) anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000 all the way up to $80,000 depending on where they land,” he said.

“There are technology jobs in every sector of the world. We live in a global society, and we hope to be bringing that right home to Mississippi and hope to start a tech revolution right here in Natchez.”

The startup cost of the coding academy, $75,000, comes from a Delta Regional Authority grant. Mayor Dan Gibson presented this in a “big check” Wednesday on the steps of City Hall.

Buseck said that around 75 applicants are already on a waiting list for the class. There is no deadline to apply and the six-month course is free through the nonprofit, he said.

“We will take applicants year-round,” Buseck said.

Gibson thanked Buseck for his leadership of the program and the city’s workforce development team its work to procure the funding.

“Through the efforts of our Director of Workforce Development, Tawana Williams and her team and the support of our Board of Alderman, we are making history,” Gibson said.

Buseck reiterated that this program is open to anyone 18 years old and older “who breathes oxygen” and is interested in learning.

“We are working on a program right now with the Department of Corrections (to offer this to the incarcerated),” he said. “We are open to working with anybody, any business, any individual that is interested in learning tech skills and bettering themselves. That’s what we’re all about.”

To apply, donate to the nonprofit or find graduates to hire, visit www.mscoding.org.