Multiple pieces of legislation that focus on Mississippi’s Office of Workforce Development (Accelerate Mississippi) have been signed by Governor Tate Reeves on Thursday.
The bills, which include Senate Bill 3021, House Bill 588, and SB 3113, aim to further investments in and bolster the efforts of Accelerate Mississippi.
“The future of Mississippi’s economy is being decided today,” Reeves stated. “We’ve made record investment in workforce development and because of that, our state’s unemployment rate is at an all-time low and more Mississippians are working than ever before.”
SB 3021 provides a $12 million appropriation to expand the existing career coaching program by an estimated 50 additional coaches across the state.
HB 588 codifies the responsibility for implementation of the career coaching program, improves functional support mechanisms between the Office of Workforce Development and the Mississippi Department of Employment Security as the fiscal agent, and strengthens the Office of Workforce Development’s duties and powers related to its programming.
SB 3113 provides a $25 million appropriation for the expansion and support of Allied Health Training Programs and $3 million for the new Accelerate Mississippi Physician Residency and Fellowship Start-Up Grant Program.
“We need to double down on preparing Mississippians to take on the jobs of the next 50 years, and that’s what we are doing,” Reeves added. “Our people are the state’s greatest asset, and we will continue to invest in them.”
