WIOA State Plan Common Elements

The state of Mississippi has opted to submit a Combined Plan to meet the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This Combined Plan is built around the commitment made by the Office of the Governor that the state’s workforce system should ensure there is a job for all Mississippians so they can live here, raise families, and grow the state. Fulfilling this pledge requires a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges that workers face in an increasingly globalizing and rapidly changing economy that places pressure on the current and prospective workforce to gain more academic credentials and higher levels of skill. This pledge also calls for a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges businesses face to remain competitive.

Mississippi’s Combined Plan includes the six required state programs—the Adult Program, the Dislocated Worker Program, the Youth Program, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program, the Wagner-Peyser Act Program, and the Vocational Rehabilitation Program—along with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Unemployment Insurance (UI), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program (JVSG), and Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

Mississippi’s implementation of WIOA has been transformative for the state. Mississippi’s original 2015 WIOA plan articulated a vision of cooperation between workforce stakeholders to ensure that all state resources would be marshalled to improve workforce participation in the state, meet the recruitment needs of current and prospective businesses, and connect job seekers in real time with resources necessary for success. A key concern of the original plan was closing the gap between the demand and supply of workers with specialized skills beyond high school. In the five years since the original plan’s approval and implementation, Mississippi’s WIOA partners have succeeded in transforming the state’s entire workforce delivery system around a focus on improving the skills of workers to connect them with high-demand jobs. Mississippi’s adult education providers have embraced the Smart Start Career Pathway model in all education and training activities by integrating a focus on necessary skills and industry recognized credentials into high school equivalency, literacy, and other programs. Adults, including senior citizens, youth, SNAP and TANF recipients, workers with disabilities, and those from other vulnerable populations are being connected with training and workforce services at the local level by Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDAs) and vocational rehabilitation partners that have aligned their training around high-demand industry sectors. The four agency partners responsible for WIOA Training programs, workforce services, supportive services like TANF and SNAP, adult education, and vocational rehabilitation are now connected electronically. A first-in-the-nation case management referral hub allows staff from any WIOA partner agency to refer participants electronically to ensure they are connected with the mix of services required to pursue a high-quality career pathway. In addition to advances in how partners connect with one another to provide the services their clients need, the state’s physical infrastructure for workforce delivery has been transformed through the addition of comprehensive One-Stop centers in which staff members representing each WIOA partner are collocated in a single center. The effects of Mississippi’s WIOA transformation have become evident as Mississippi’s workforce continues to grow and underemployment has been nearly cut in half.

The foundation for Mississippi’s Combined Plan was rooted in the economic and workforce analysis prescribed by WIOA. Mississippi continues to have a positive economic outlook. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2019) reveal several encouraging facts. The unemployment rate has declined from 10.4 percent in 2010 to an average of 5.2 percent in 2019. Similarly, underemployment reached a peak of 17.6 percent in 2011 but has been cut nearly in half, reaching 8.9 percent in 2019. Mississippi has experienced rapid growth in its number of new businesses, with more than 2,100 new establishments in the last three years alone. The current economic environment is creating opportunities for the establishment of new and better jobs. Data from the Mississippi Works Labor Exchange show that manufacturing was the biggest job creator in the state, with more than 31,750 job openings during the period September 2018 through August 2019. Advanced manufacturing and healthcare support are also emerging sectors in the state. Together, they had thousands of job openings in 2019.

Economic and workforce analysis clearly shows that the state is in an excellent position to improve its total workforce participation rate by increasing worker skills that are in demand by employers. Mississippi’s workforce participation rate is 56.2 percent. Analysis reveals that the state’s largest skill gap is in opportunity occupations—those requiring more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree, often in combination with some level of technical proficiency, and that pay at least $18 per hour within five years of the completion of training. This combination of formal training and industry credentials, coupled with practical experience and necessary (soft) skills, is the new workforce currency that will ensure success for Mississippians seeking to fill the tens of thousands of openings available. Providing Mississippians with training and education opportunities aimed at closing the skill gap will improve their ability to pursue jobs that better match their credentials and full-time employment aspirations. This approach will also provide employers with a workforce that possesses the skills and core competencies required for businesses to remain competitive in a global economy.

The state’s strategic vision is to continue to nurture a workforce system that acts and functions as an ecosystem where all parts are connected and line up to achieve common goals so that every Mississippian has the opportunity to be work- or career-ready and to secure his or her dream job right here at home. Currently, the complexity of Mississippi’s workforce system and the sheer number of education, training, and employment support service activities geared to address barriers to employment pose a challenge to the state. Under Mississippi’s Combined Plan, from the moment one enters the education and workforce system, he or she will be presented with the necessary tools to choose and pursue a career pathway that is relevant to current and future labor markets. Similarly, from the moment current and prospective businesses enter into a partnership with Mississippi’s education and workforce system, resources will be immediately aligned to cultivate the sustainable, high-performance workforce critical for maintaining and expanding businesses’ long-term economic viability, in turn creating better and more sustainable employment opportunities for Mississippians.

The state’s primary strategy is a career pathway model that facilitates the integration of programs and improvement of efficiency in service delivery across partners. This model is known as the Mississippi Works Smart Start Career Pathway Model. The state has reimagined its One-Stop workforce delivery system to create 1) Comprehensive One-Stop Centers, 2) Affiliate One-Stop Centers, 3) Virtual Access One-Stop Centers, and 4) Call Center Support. A fifth One-Stop type, Sector Training Plus Comprehensive, is currently in the planning stages. Policies and regulations have been established for the new WIOA Combined Plan Partners’ workforce ecosystem along with improved technology integration that leverages the state’s nation-leading longitudinal data system.

Operationally, the state will continue to undertake the following activities to implement its Mississippi Works Smart Start Career Pathway Model:

1. Align WIOA Combined Plan Partners in state education, training, and workforce around the Mississippi Works Smart Start Career Pathway Model, a data-driven roadmap designed to guide Mississippians from any state of work-readiness into gainful employment. 
2. Build on the state's current information technology infrastructure to coordinate and align the case management activities of all WIOA Combined Plan Partners in education, training, workforce, and supportive services to realize greater efficiency in service delivery, reduce duplication of effort, and ensure that every Mississippian receives the highest level of coordinated assistance in connecting to the labor market.
3. Build on the state's current physical network of WIOA Combined Plan Partners in workforce, education, and supportive service partner offices to ensure that every Mississippian has access to staff members who understand the Mississippi Works Smart Start Career Pathway Model and take a job-focused approach to case management.
4. Develop performance measures and other measures of socioeconomic mobility that give the state workforce system the ability to assess program effectiveness and pursue a data-driven approach to strategic planning.
5. Engage in continuous research to understand the workforce needs of Mississippi's employers in the context of local and regional economic sectors, making the results of this analysis available for economic development and other strategic workforce planning purposes.
6. Provide a common vision for WIOA Combined Plan Partners for state workforce, training, education, and supportive services through coordinating entities such as the State Workforce Investment Board and Mississippi's four local workforce development boards.

Leadership from the Office of the Governor will continue to allow the state to develop and implement the most comprehensive WIOA workforce system in the country. Mississippi’s system serves people from all walks of life with any work experience and skill needs, such as individuals who seek training after being laid off for several years, those who are preparing for their first job or postsecondary education, and people who pursue training during or after work to improve their skills. The system will also continue to serve those in need of help with childcare or transportation, as well as those who need to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills or improve their English language skills.

The state of Mississippi has opted to resubmit a Combined Plan. The plan includes the six required state programs, along with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Unemployment Insurance (UI), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program (JVSG), and Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The main focus of the plan is to improve the economic opportunities of all job seekers, especially those with low skills.

Mississippi is in an excellent position to continue implementation of a Combined Plan. Over the last decade or so, the state has created a cultural and political environment that fosters cooperation and integration across education and workforce programs. In 2004, the state passed the Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act. The main goal of the act was to reduce fragmentation and duplication of services and to promote performance-based management. The state has developed and implemented one of the country’s most integrated technology-based workforce systems, commonly known as Mississippi Works. The system fully integrates UI, TAA, Adults, Dislocated Workers, Youth, Veterans, and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). SCSEP is tracked using an external system. Mississippi Works is fully interoperable with other case management systems, such as those for Rehabilitation Services, Adult Education, and TANF. The state has also developed and implemented one of the most comprehensive and advanced integrated data systems in the country: LifeTracks. The development of this system began in 2005, and the system has been fully operational for the last seven years. In 2012, the Mississippi Legislature created the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Governing Board for the management and oversight of data sharing and data use. Board members include representatives from each workforce and education sector in the state. The SLDS Governing Board has developed a clear set of rules that define the scope of LifeTracks and ensure data integrity, security, confidentiality, and privacy (see Appendix B).

Mississippi’s plan includes two major components: 1) Combined Plan programs and 2) Strategic programs, which will increase the impact of the Combined Plan. As shown in Tables 1 and 2, these various programs are administered by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES), the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB), Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS), Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS), Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), and Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).

Table 1: Combined Plan Programs

Table 2: Strategic Programs

Mississippi has four designated local workforce development areas (see Figure 1) that are generally aligned with the planning and development district structure in the state in accordance with the Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act of 2004. Planning and development districts serve as the fiscal agents to manage funds and to oversee and support local workforce development boards aligned with the areas and local programs and activities as delivered by the One-Stop employment and training system. 

Figure 1: Local Workforce Development Areas

In accordance with WIOA requirements (Section 106) and Mississippi’s Local Workforce Development Area Designation Policy (see Appendix C), the Governor of Mississippi received and approved requests for initial designation from the four local workforce development boards: Delta, Mississippi Partnership, Southcentral Mississippi Works, and Twin Districts. Prior to submitting the initial designation requests, the boards posted the requests on their websites for a public comment period. These areas met the three criteria for initial designation: (1) they were designated as local areas for the purposes of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 prior to the two-year period preceding the date of enactment of WIOA; (2) they have performed successfully; and (3) they have sustained fiscal integrity. The subsequent designation of local workforce development areas and the definition of regions took place according to Mississippi’s Local Workforce Development Area Designation Policy in compliance with all relevant sections of WIOA.

In 2017, the State Workforce Investment Board invested in the development and implementation of regional sector strategy plans. Local Workforce Development Boards were awarded funds to form a public/ private partnership and develop a plan that addresses the workforce needs in their respective regional economies. A skilled and educated workforce was the prevailing need identified in the planning process. Each LWDB selected target sectors and developed goals and activities to implement the plans.

The four local workforce development areas (LWDAs) in Mississippi were originally defined by the State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) by direction of the Governor following the guidelines set forth in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Section 116. These boundaries, however, are not simply jurisdictional; they follow significant demographic and economic boundaries. Each LWDA contributes to Mississippi’s economic sector goals, identified by the Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) primary and secondary target industries. While local areas assist MDA in pursuing economic development activities in all ten of its target sectors, Table 3 shows the relationship between MDA’s sector targets and the particular sector targets articulated by Mississippi’s LWDAs.

Table 3: Mississippi LWDA Overlap with MDA Target Industries

*Note: MDA Targets Tourism, Leisure, Accommodation, and Film as a statewide initiative with support from local workforce areas.

The Delta LWDA is known for its agricultural production. Analyzing jobs in Mississippi by location quotient (the concentration of jobs in a geographical area relative to the national average of jobs in this industry), 10 of the 13 top crop production and food manufacturing counties in Mississippi during 2018 are in the Delta LWDA. While the fertile land of the Delta that supports agribusiness defines the Delta LWDA, the area is also diversifying in healthcare with service providers like Mid-Delta and pharmaceutical manufacturers/preparers such as Baxter and PharMEDium. In addition, Delta LWDA is pursuing Information Technology as a target sector. For example, Automation Anywhere is training Delta residents to do Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for major companies throughout the United States.

The Mississippi Partnership LWDA is known as a manufacturing hub. Six of the top 10 manufacturing counties in Mississippi are in the Mississippi Partnership LWDA. Industries like plastics and rubber manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, and furniture manufacturing are growing and shifting from low-skill manufacturing to middle-skill, advanced manufacturing operations in this LWDA. Large manufacturing employers such as Cooper Tires, Yokohama, Toyota, Stark Aerospace, Airbus Helicopters, Aurora Flight Sciences, Ashley Furniture, and Lane Furniture all have locations in the Mississippi Partnership LWDA.

The Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA includes the state capital and is known for its presence in sectors such as healthcare, energy, and agribusiness. Six of the top 20 counties specializing in these sectors fall within the Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA. Because of a strong hospital system and medical education focus, the Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA serves as a healthcare hub for the entire state. The presence of oil and natural gas deposits in the southwestern part of Mississippi give Southcentral Mississippi Works its strength in the energy sector. The Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA is also becoming a key hub for the automotive industry with large manufacturers such as Nissan and Continental Tire.

The Twin Districts LWDA, located in the southeastern part of the state, is successful in several sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, and tourism. Within manufacturing, top industries in this LWDA include transportation equipment manufacturing, shipbuilding, and electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing. The combination of Stennis Space Center and military installations including Keesler AFB, Naval Construction Battalion Center, Meridian Naval Air Station, and Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center reinforce a strong military presence in the area and contribute to the presence of advanced manufacturing in shipbuilding and aerospace. The top industry within the agribusiness sector in the Twin Districts LWDA is forestry and logging. Within the tourism sector, many are employed in the amusement, gambling, and recreation industries in this area. The presence of the Gulf Coast as a tourist attraction and hub of international business and the Pine Belt in southern Mississippi help give the Twin Districts LWDA its unique economic identity.

While each of the four WIOA LWDAs has a strong overall economic identity, some economic and demographic variability exists within these areas (see Table 4) relevant to any training or supportive efforts.

Within each of the four LWDAs, entities such as economic development councils (EDCs) and public utilities also manage target industry regions. With vital information on available sites, buildings, and workforce demographics, EDCs assist companies considering Mississippi as a potential location. The presence of EDCs can be useful in identifying subtle differences of economic or industry focus within an LWDA. In addition, one of Mississippi’s utility companies, Mississippi Power, manages a target industry region within a single LWDA, Twin Districts.

Table 4. Economic Variability within LWDAs by EDC and Public Utility Industry Focus

Delta Council - https://www.deltastrong.ms/targeted-industries; North MS Industrial Development Association - http://nmida.com/; Golden Triangle Development Link - https://gtrlink.org/; Greater Jackson Alliance -http://www.greaterjacksonms.com/index.php/industry_information; Southwest MS Partnership - http://www.swmiss.us/#section_6; MS Gulf Coast Alliance - http://mscoastalliance.com/target-industries/; Mississippi Power - https://www.mississippipower.com/business/economic-development/target-industries.html; Mid-Mississippi Development District - https://www.mmdd.org/workforce_profile.html.

It is also important to capture social differences along with economic differences throughout the regions of the four LWDAs. This can be  measured by the presence or absence of metropolitan and micropolitan areas. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) describes a metropolitan statistical area as an urbanized area of 50,000 or higher in population with an adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core. Micropolitan statistical areas are defined by OMB as having at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 in population in addition to an adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core area through commuting. By examining metropolitan and micropolitan areas, regions can be defined by the social and economic importance of a municipality. 

The Delta LWDA, encompassing 14 counties, serves as a connection to three of Mississippi’s regional neighbors: Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Within the Delta LWDA, Tunica County represents part of the Memphis metropolitan statistical area, which spans the three states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas (see Figure 2). Tunica County represents a region of the Delta that has a growing connection to Memphis within the Delta LWDA. As of 2018, 62.3 percent of Tunica county residents remain in the county for work, a drop from 79.2 percent in 2014. Workforce connections to Memphis are growing appreciably.

Figure 2: Mississippi's Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Non-Core Areas

Within the Delta, there are also five micropolitan areas representing six counties. In these counties, more than 70 percent of residents remain in their county for work. These counties also draw non-core residents for work. Delta residents living in non-core areas (i.e. outside of metropolitan or micropolitan counties) leave their county for work at a rate of 45.02 percent.

The Delta represents an area of sparse population relative to other Mississippi LWDAs. For example, Tunica County has a population density of 22.7 people per square mile, compared to the Mississippi average of 64. The micropolitan areas in the Delta have a higher population density (40.5 people per square mile, down slightly from 42.8 in 2014), and the non-core areas have the lowest population density (22.9 people per square mile, down from  27.3 in 2014).

In sum, the Delta LWDA is driven by an economic goal of supporting agriculture and agribusiness in order to support the area, as led by the Delta Council and Mississippi Delta Developers Association. In the northern part is Tunica County, the one of two metropolitan counties in the LWDA, in which nearly 63 percent of residents work in the county. In the northern and central portion of this LWDA are five micropolitan areas covering six counties with the highest average population density and more than 70 percent of residents that work in the county. In the northeast (three counties) and southern (three counties) portions of this LWDA are six counties that fall into a non-core classification, with more than 45.2 percent of residents commuting outside their county for work. Holmes county, is the second metropolitan county in the LWDA, and is part of the Jackson metropolitan area.

The Mississippi Partnership LWDA is home to diverse economic sectors: healthcare, information technology, energy, advanced manufacturing, and logistics. Being the largest LWDA (27 counties), uniquely positioned bordering three other states, this area is rich in economic opportunity and growth.

Within the Mississippi Partnership LWDA, are specialized hubs of concentrated industry. In the northeast part of the state sits the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park. This park is home to many newcomers to the state of Mississippi including: Amazon, Nike, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Niagara, Asics and Volvo. In addition, this industrial park is the collocation of the Marshall County Workforce Training Center. Strategically, the Mississippi Partnership LWDA is adamant about workforce and technical training juxtapose industry such as manufacturing and logistics, thus the initiative to collocate these training resources near to the demand of these jobs.

Over 40% of Mississippi’s manufacturing industries are located in the Mississippi Partnership LWDA. The manufacturing economy is vast consisting of but not limited to: aerospace, electronics/computer, automotive, furniture, chemical and metal fabrication. To meet the needs of some of the world’s most technically advanced manufacturers, East Mississippi Community College created the EMCC Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence 2.0, also known as the Communiversity. The Communiversity’s 145,638 square-foot facility sits in the Golden Triangle Regional Global Industrial Aerospace Park in Lowndes County, born from strong partnerships between K-12, the community college, the technological university and area industry. The goal of this facility is to provide a consistent stream of highly specialized and technically competent individuals to work at advanced manufacturers in Mississippi.

The Mississippi Partnership LWDA emphasizes in-school youth programs, technical training and industry recognized apprenticeship programs. There are four industry recognized apprenticeship programs in the Mississippi Partnership LWDA. Industry specifically in the advanced manufacturing, information technology, and logistics sectors have grown to depend on these programs as part of their recruitment and training methodology. Mississippi Partnership LWDA industry recognized apprenticeship program partners include but are not limited to: APMM, Cyient, Syntron Material Handling, Southern Motion, TAG Truck Center, Keytronics, Moore Engineering and Toyota.

The Mississippi Partnership LWDA is home to the North Mississippi Medical Center, the state’s largest, private, not-for-profit hospital in Mississippi and the largest non-metropolitan hospital in America. Combined with other hospitals in the Mississippi Partnership LWDA, there is a large demand for medical professionals. Community colleges in North Mississippi offer various technician degrees and certifications to meet this demand.

Within the Mississippi Partnership LWDA, there are numerous partners such as the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association (NMIDA), the Golden Triangle Development Link, Innovate Mississippi, and other county specific economic development communities such as The Alliance (Alcorn County), the DeSoto County Economic Development Council, the Winston Partnership, and the Community Development Foundation (CDF). 

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The Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA encompasses 17 counties and is served by two EDCs that divide the area into two nearly separate regions within southwest Mississippi: the Greater Jackson Alliance (GJA) and Southwest Mississippi Partnership (SWMSP). GJA is a regional alliance organized to develop and implement a marketing strategy to promote Greater Jackson and to enhance cooperation between the various governmental jurisdictions in Greater Jackson. This area is focused on its strongest industry, healthcare, and interested in expanding into new industries. SWMSP unites 10 counties in southwest Mississippi toward a regional economic development vision. SWMSP has targeted metal fabrication, plastics, contact centers, and food processing as key industries. Metal fabrication could help support some new industries in Mississippi, such as semiconductor manufacturing. It is also worth noting the division of the Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA by metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.

The Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA serves as a major connection point to Louisiana. The Jackson metropolitan statistical area consists of six counties in the northeastern part of this LWDA. The presence, size, and expansion of this metropolitan area are represented in its population density (122.7 people per square mile, up from 116.8 people per square mile in 2014), with nearly 55.6 percent of residents remaining in their county for work (down from 56.3 percent in 2014). There are also four micropolitan statistical areas that help define this region, with a lower population density (72.7 people per square mile, up from 53.3 people per square mile in 2014) but a higher percentage of residents who stay in their county for work (76.9 percent, up from 68.5 percent in 2014). Additionally, there are seven non-core counties clustered in the southeastern and southwestern parts of this LWDA. The lack of metropolitan and micropolitan areas in these counties leads to higher percentages of residents leaving their county for work (37.6 percent, down from 38.6 percent in 2014), with long average commute times (31.9 minutes). Many people in these counties are likely to commute to border metropolitan or micropolitan counties for work or training.

In sum, the Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDA sees a strong regional divide in terms of economic focus, as evidenced by regional boundaries that show minimal overlap, and of demographics, as evidenced by the range between population densities in the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Within the Jackson area, there is a strong focus on healthcare and technology, while there is a strong focus on food processing and manufacturing in the more sparsely populated areas of southwest Mississippi.

The Twin Districts LWDA, encompassing 24 counties, differs from the other LWDAs in that there are counties not served by a regional EDC. The Twin Districts sector strategy includes advanced manufacturing, energy, chemicals and healthcare as their target industries, with information technology emerging in their area. There are two main EDCs that serve nine counties in the Twin Districts LWDA: the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development, which is comprised of the three coastal counties, and the Mid- Mississippi Development District (MMDD), which serves six counties in the central part of the LWDA. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development has identified target industries that align well with those of MDA. The alliance’s target industries are aerospace, defense, advanced materials, and energy. MMDD is focused on advanced manufacturing and healthcare.

The Twin Districts LWDA is also unique from the other LWDAs in that there are two metropolitan statistical areas in this LWDA. The Twin Districts LWDA serves as a connection to Alabama and Louisiana as well as an international port along the Gulf Coast. The two metropolitan statistical areas, Gulfport-Biloxi and Hattiesburg, have a growing, very high population density (134.9 people per square mile, up from 129.8 in 2014). 36.6 percent of residents of these counties leave their county for work (up from 34.8 in 2014). The proximity of employment leads to a shorter average commute time (26.8 minutes) compared to the other counties in this LWDA. There are three micropolitan areas in this LWDA (Picayune, Laurel, and Meridian), with a percentage of residents leaving their county for work (35.9 percent, up from 33.7 percent in 2014) and average commute time (29.1 minutes) similar to those of the LWDA’s metropolitan areas. There are also 10 non-core counties spread throughout the Twin Districts LWDA. These non-core areas form a cluster in the southeast and make up the entire western border of the LWDA. Counties in the non-core areas of the Twin Districts LWDA have the lowest population density (35.7 people per square mile, down from 37.9 in 2014), highest percentage of people leaving their county for work (40.5 percent, down from 40.9 percent in 2014), and the longest average commute time (31.7 minutes, up from 30.13 minutes in 2014). Other than population density, the variation among metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core areas is relatively small.

The economy of the Twin Districts LWDA relies on several industries, with a strong focus on advanced manufacturing and energy, particularly along the coastal part of the LWDA. In the growing area of clean energy, a 450-acre, 52-megawatt solar farm came online in 2017 near Hattiesburg, MS capable of powering 6,500 homes. The metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core areas show less variation than those in other LWDAs in terms of commuting times and residents leaving their county for work.

Finally, the state has also classified regions that cross LWDA boundaries in efforts to make larger impacts across Mississippi.

Economic Development Councils

Within the Delta and Mississippi Partnership LWDAs, there are three Economic Development Councils (EDCs) that serve more than one LWDA and sometimes spill into three LWDAs. Within the Delta LWDA, there are two EDCs that spill beyond the Delta LWDA and cover 20 counties in northwest Mississippi: the Mississippi Delta Developers Association (MDDA) and the Delta Council (DC). These EDCs share a goal of increasing economic development in northwest Mississippi and helping to solve common problems in this area. The MDDA aids the Delta LWDA by assisting with relocation for companies, including listing available buildings and sites, transportation maps, incentives at local, state, and federal levels, financing programs, and labor and training information. The DC serves 18 counties in the Delta region by providing a nexus for collaboration for agricultural, business, and professional leadership and solving common problems experienced in the area by way of several economically focused committees, including committees for aquaculture, ginning and cotton quality improvement, and rice and small grains, among others. All of the committees reflect the Delta LWDA’s commitment to agribusiness, which is a target industry of the MDDA.

North Mississippi Industrial Development Association (NMIDA) is the largest of the three EDCs, with an area that surpasses the Mississippi Partnership LWDA boundaries in order to serve the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) territory in Mississippi. NMIDA serves 29 of the 36 counties within the TVA territory. NMIDA helps companies looking to locate businesses in Mississippi through services such as providing information on available sites and buildings, transportation, and incentives. NMIDA mainly targets advanced manufacturing with a few other targets, such as aerospace, forest products, and agribusiness.

Two of Mississippi’s utility companies, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Entergy, manage target industry regions spanning several LWDAs. Entergy spans the Delta and Southcentral Mississippi Works LWDAs. TVA covers the Delta and Mississippi Partnership LWDAs and parts of the Twin Districts LWDA.

Mississippi Community College Consortia

Mississippi’s Workforce Enhancement Training (WET) fund derives from employer unemployment insurance taxes and is a state funding source for workforce training. In order to establish wide-ranging consortia to encourage collaboration among community colleges in the areas of workforce education and training, a portion of the WET fund transferred in 2013 was allocated to establish a collaborative consortia grant. In 2013, House Bill 932 created an $8,000,000 transfer to the WET fund, and $1,500,000 of that transfer was allocated to the collaborative consortia grant. For each approved consortium, there would be $500,000 available. Three consortia have been recommended and approved by workforce directors on the Mississippi Community College Board: the Southern Mississippi Alliance for Workforce Solutions, Mississippi Corridor Consortium, and the Crossroads. These three consortia marshal community college resources to provide training and education to Mississippians within the districts of the collaborating community college and, in some cases, to give focus to specific industries important to a consortium’s region.  The Mississippi Corridor Consortium is led by Itawamba Community College (see Figure 3), with the top priority of training residents of these areas to address the transitional condition of the area’s workforce needs as determined through relationships with local businesses. Regionally, workforce opportunities continue the transition from low-skill manufacturing jobs to middle-skill advanced manufacturing and technology-related occupations.

The Mississippi Crossroads Consortium is led by Holmes Community College and committed to assisting with the development of a population of potential employees for employers who are looking for individuals who can demonstrate skills, keep up with the fast pace of change, and show dedication to lifelong learning. In order to help train job seekers in the area of healthcare, the Mississippi Crossroads Consortium is seeking healthcare-related training aids, which will be identified by East Mississippi Community College. This focus on healthcare as well as advanced manufacturing follows the state trends as well as MDA target industries.

The South Mississippi Alliance for Workforce Solutions has set a mission of investigating, developing, and delivering education and training for citizens and industries in the five community college service districts through demand-driven, innovative, traditional, and non-traditional formats to advance the South Mississippi workforce. Industries specified by this consortium are manufacturing and healthcare, with the goal of developing credentials in each of these industries specific to this consortium area.

There is a growing presence of automotive manufacturing throughout southern states, such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, with large employers, like Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, employing many Southerners. This corridor speaks to the business-friendly climate of Mississippi and the South in general and to a commitment to middle-skill careers.

Figure 3: Cross-Area Regions in Mississippi

In Figure 3, The Mississippi Corridor Consortium is top left, the Crossroads Consortium is top right, and the Southern Mississippi Alliance for Workforce Solutions is lower left. In the lower right is the Southern Automotive Corridor.