Mississippi’s Washington County has a population of 44,604, of which 30.1% are white, 69% African American or Black and 0.5% Hispanic or Latino. The median household income is $38,394.00. Only 20.6% of the population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the unemployment rate was 4.6% in 2022, 10 basis points higher than the national unemployment rate.
To address the employable skill gaps, Delta Compass leads a collaborative that addresses current and future labor needs in Washington County, Mississippi. The initiative collaborates with various educational institutions, local employers, and community organizations to create pathways to employment in response to area sector workforce demand.
Delta Compass’ Workforce development program highlights the importance of Private-Public Partnerships that break the silos that exist between education and workforce development. In the framework, under Leadership for Digital Transformation, we discuss Credential mapping to high-demand industry skills and skills-based hiring, which is why Delta Compass collaborated with Workforce Investment Network (WIN) and the community college system, featuring the Mississippi Delta Community College (MDCC) Capps Technology Center to create pathways in response to area sector demand in healthcare, education, and manufacturing.
In the Digital Ecosystem, the partnership with the WIN Center provided an Integrated Support System, which is a one-stop resource for education, human services, training, and economic development. The Capps Technology Center exemplifies the framework’s objective of Career and Technical Education (CTE) Expansion by providing customized, quick turnaround training that resulted in nationally recognized certifications and job readiness skills to meet the area sector demands.
Delta Compass’ workforce development program took a collaborative approach to break down individual barriers to employment by engaging with local employers, service providers, and educational institutions to create pathways that optimized participants’ preparation and qualifications for available jobs in the community.
Their strategic approach to meeting growing healthcare and manufacturing opportunities entailed the following:
Comprehensive Support Services: Delta Compass provides individualized employment support, including resume and interview preparation; maternity and childcare stipends; transportation stipends; emergency assistance for housing, utilities, and food; tuition assistance; career pathway navigation; and financial literacy training. The program addresses barriers to employment by facilitating immediate entry into training programs and providing necessary resources.
Given its open-door policy, the program successfully placed 40 percent of participants in full-time jobs, representing 100 percent of those who completed a training or certification program. Ten employers across six industries hired participants from the program.
Two major challenges faced by the initiative include the rising cost of certification courses and limited transportation options for participants. These challenges could be addressed by offering non-competitive grant funds to meet these needs.
For continuous improvement, ongoing efforts aim to expand services such as financial literacy opportunities and entrepreneurship training programs to ensure the initiative remains responsive to community needs and sustainable in the long term.
Digital Equity