BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – A classroom full of future coders in Biloxi is at the Mississippi Coding Academy, a place where instructors have one goal in mind: advancing the cyber world.

“Our goal is to give students the opportunity to learn coding and advanced technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, web design and other coding skills,” said Jim St. Clair.

St. Clair is one of the instructors at the Gulf Coast academy.

“We have basic guidelines based on a high school equivalent to a GED, but that are negotiable in any of those circumstances, but again, it really gives a chance to populations that may not be able to —may not enroll in these schools or who will face high tuition costs, so they could come here to class and learn,” St. Clair said.

During the course, Jim says students get a taste of what it means to handle things like cybersecurity, a topic that workers like Keesler and other companies are looking to explore.

He also says that while many students will receive offers from different states, his goal is to prepare them to stay in Mississippi to help advance the cybersecurity field in the future.

“Mississippi State University has a government-funded cybersecurity program that does a lot of research,” St. Clair said. “Keesler Air Force Base houses preliminary cybersecurity training for Airmen and particularly Airmen specializing in cybersecurity and defending Air Force networks. We are growing our cybersecurity practice area and training program.

“If our entire class gets a job offer that takes them to Silicon Valley or New York or Seattle, then that’s wonderful. But we would love to build that as a workforce that we develop and get opportunities for in Mississippi.

Graduation will take place this Friday at the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport.

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