As the state’s lead workforce development office, we, at AccelerateMS, have placed more than 100 career coaches in school districts statewide with more on the way. 

That’s because we know the importance of helping students identify career pathways that match their aptitudes and interests. 

Stepping in where a traditional guidance counselor’s duties end, our career coaches are helping young people define their goals for the future and create a plan to achieve them. More specifically, we are helping seniors realize their dreams of being first-generation college students, working with local employers to provide jobs in fields of interest, and establishing paths to certification programs in coding, barbering, welding, truck driving and other skilled professions. 

Modeled after similar programs that have earned success in northeast Mississippi and on the Gulf Coast, the statewide career coaching initiative began gaining momentum shortly after being funded by the State Legislature during the 2022 session with $8 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.  

For the initial group of career coaches, AccelerateMS awarded grants to seven regional development organizations to  recruit, hire and place coaches in school districts located in their geographic areas. 

Thanks to a $12 million boost from the State Legislature during the 2023 session, we are now preparing to expand the program to more regions of the state and focusing on how to further enhance reporting of outcomes and continually support coaches to ensure student success. 

We are excited that the expertise and unbiased attention of our career coaches are helping students across the state get the results they’ve been hoping for, and we are looking forward to boosting Mississippi’s workforce even more as we move ahead.