- The latest on MEC’s ‘Ascent to 55%’ initiative.
The Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) and AccelerateMS are making steady progress on the ambitious goal of getting 55 percent of working-age Mississippians to have a post-secondary credential of some sort.
“Data came out at the end of last week showing us at 48.7 percent,” said Jean Massey, executive director of Ascent to 55%, an initiative of the state’s chamber of commerce and workforce development agency. “We’ve got to keep driving toward that goal because the higher we can increase our attainment rate, the more we can increase the state’s workforce participation rate.”
The strategic plan calls for working-aged Mississippians – 25 to 64 years old – to earn a two-year degree, four-year degree, an accreditation, a certification, an internship, or on-the-job training beyond high school.
“The business community understands the need for an educated workforce and they’re more involved than ever,” said Massey, a former associate state superintendent. “The numbers say that by 2030, 63 percent of the jobs in Mississippi are going to need some form of post-secondary education. Look at the jobs for these industries coming into the state and you’ll see that nearly all of them require it. At MEC, we’re trying to line up opportunities from birth through workforce to get a clear career pathway for our individuals.”
The initiative is run through MEC’s Propel Education Forum, a non-profit, non-partisan education policy research group founded in 1989. The Education Achievement Council (EAC), established by former Governor Haley Barbour’s administration in 2010, set the attainment rate goals of 55 percent by 2030, and 60 percent by 2035. The Woodward Hines Education Foundation, which commissioned a study showing by 2030 that number should be 59 percent, provided grant money to expedite the initiative.
The starting point in 2019: 44 percent, the fourth lowest in the U.S.
The initiative began at MEC in 2022 with listening tours across the Magnolia State.
“That’s when the movement really started,” explained Massey.
Proposed legislation to support educational attainment might help advance the 55 percent goal.
“State lawmakers are looking at reworking the Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant (program), which would be huge – bringing in part-time and adult workers to help them move forward,” said Massey. “We have more than 300,000 adults in this state that have some college credit but no degree or certification. We need to work with those individuals to get them back in.”
Among other changes, House Bill 628 would remove the exclusion that prohibits recipients of federal Pell Grant funds from receiving MTAG funds and to rename the program the Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance and Workforce Acceleration Grant (MTAWAG).
“Most adults and part-time students are holding down full-time jobs to afford college,” said Massey, pointing out the rules for Mississippi’s other two college financial aid programs mostly exclude this group. “Pell dollars don’t cover full tuition and costs. Anything to help some of our most needy would be very good.”
Several proposed childcare bills are churning through the Legislature that could improve access to and affordability of childcare for adults wanting to return to school, said Massey.
“For the single mom with small children, it might mean the difference between going back — or not,” she said.
