Mississippi to use $8.5 million federal grant to build Workforce Pell training at all 15 community colleges
Mississippi is allocating $8.5 million to build short-term training programs eligible for Workforce Pell at its 15 public community colleges, Gov. Tate Reeves’ office announced Sept. 23.
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants program and is fully federally funded, at a total project cost of $8,544,213. The effort, called the Mississippi Workforce Pell Systems and Pathways Initiative, is led by Northwest Mississippi Community College, with AccelerateMS coordinating statewide implementation.
The project is expected to serve more than 1,500 participants and support at least 19 short-term training programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility. Focus areas are advanced manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction and information infrastructure, and healthcare. It also aims to strengthen statewide workforce data systems and employment outcome tracking.
“By bringing all 15 of our community colleges together, this investment will help create new training programs,” Reeves said.
Northwest Mississippi Community College President Michael J. Heindl said the initiative is “an opportunity to build a coordinated statewide approach that gives more Mississippians access to short-term, high-quality training.” Courtney Taylor of AccelerateMS called the grant “a significant opportunity for Mississippi to get this right from the beginning.”