Beunkka Davis, Communications Specialist JACKSON, Miss. — December 4, 2025 – AccelerateMS, Mississippi’s leading office for workforce development strategy and coordination, is strengthening its statewide grants management capacity with the addition of Jackie Smith as Workforce Project Manager, Grants Management. Smith brings more than two decades of experience leading statewide, grant-funded, and workforce-focused projects, with […]
News
I2PA Graduate Finds Career Momentum Through Mississippi Trades Training
CLINTON, Miss. — December 2, 2025 – A welding class was all it took to redirect Rose Sanchez’s career plans. What began as curiosity grew into a pathway toward Mississippi’s fast-expanding skilled trades workforce. Sanchez, a native of Puerto Rico, graduated from the Amazon Web Services Information Infrastructure Pre-Apprenticeship (I2PA) program in September. Since then, […]
Navigator Program Prepares More Nurses for Mississippi
Beunkka Davis, Communications Specialist SENATOBIA, Miss – November 25, 2025 – When nursing student Zylexus Watson walked into nurse navigator Emily Tristeza’s office at Northwest Mississippi Community College, she often arrived carrying more than her textbooks. As a young mother of two, balancing coursework, childcare, and financial strain, she sometimes came in overwhelmed. But she […]
AccelerateMS Convenes ATLAS Industry Roundtables to Strengthen Mississippi’s Workforce Pipeline
JACKSON, Miss. — November 24, 2025 – Leaders from education, industry, and workforce development across Mississippi gathered this fall for a series of ATLAS Industry Roundtable meetings designed to align the state’s talent pipeline with employer needs and emerging career pathways. Hosted by the Mississippi Business Alliance in partnership with AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, […]
Gulf States Strengthen Collaboration to Build the Region’s Defense Workforce
BILOXI, Miss. — Regional industry and workforce leaders from Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana came together on Thursday, November 6, at William Carey University’s Traditions Campus in Biloxi for the 2nd Annual Gulf Coast Defense Industrial Base Workforce Summit, reaffirming their shared commitment to building a stronger, more unified defense workforce pipeline across the Gulf Coast. […]
AccelerateMS and Hinds Community College Forge Model Workforce Partnership to Power Mississippi’s Infrastructure Growth
JACKSON, Miss. – Nov. 7, 2025 – AccelerateMS, Mississippi’s lead office for workforce development strategy and coordination, and Hinds Community College, on Friday, established a strategic partnership designed to set a new statewide standard for how Mississippi supports new, expanding, and existing industries. The announcement, held at the Hinds Jackson Campus, was attended by local […]
AccelerateMS Launches Reconnect 2.0 Grant Opportunity to Expand Workforce Training
JACKSON, Miss. — October 23, 2025 – AccelerateMS has released the Mississippi Reconnect 2.0, offering $5 million in grant funding to expand accelerated workforce training opportunities across the state. The initiative seeks proposals from Mississippi’s local workforce areas, community colleges, and higher education institutions to provide short-term training—lasting up to eight weeks—in high-demand occupations, including […]
AccelerateMS Welcomes New Regional Workforce Project Managers: Ray Hollis and Dr. Deano Harrison
Beunkka Davis, Communications Specialist JACKSON, Miss. (Oct. 16, 2025) — AccelerateMS, Mississippi’s leading office for workforce development strategy and coordination, has welcomed two experienced professionals to its team: Carlton “Ray” Hollis, MBA, in north Mississippi, and Dr. Daniel Dean “Deano” Harrison in south Mississippi. Both will serve as workforce project managers with regional focuses aimed […]
Mississippi Transitions Workforce Grants to New Centralized System
JACKSON, Miss. – September 30, 2025 – AccelerateMS, in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, launched regional GranTrak sessions to help providers transition into the state’s new unified workforce grant management system. The sessions offered hands-on guidance to ensure providers were equipped to navigate the platform effectively. The transition marked an important step […]
Mississippi Industry Leaders Invited to Help Shape Workforce Strategy at ATLAS Roundtables
Beunkka Davis, Communications Specialist JACKSON, Miss. — September 22, 2025 – The Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) and the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA) will host a series of ATLAS (Accelerated Training and Livelihood Aligned Strategy) Industry Roundtable discussions in partnership with AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), and the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB). Industry leaders, […]