New Partnerships Strengthen Workforce, Economic Development

As of Sept. 22, AccelerateMS can offer services to north Mississippi via its new office on the Ole Miss campus. The workforce development program joins UM’s economic development office and Oxford Lafayette Incorporated at Insight Park, creating a hub for employers, potential employees and students seeking opportunities in the Magnolia State.

“By bringing AccelerateMS alongside Oxford-Lafayette, Inc. and UM’s economic development office at Insight Park, we can provide employers with a single, coordinated resource,” said William Nicholas, director of economic development and Insight Park. “This partnership ensures that companies evaluating our region see a unified strategy for both workforce training and long-term industry support.”

Mississippi established AccelerateMS in 2020 to create a workforce training and development office with industry needs in mind. That goal aligns well with those of Ole Miss and the Oxford Lafayette Incorporated, which moved to Insight Park over the summer, said Courtney Taylor, executive director of Accelerate MS.

“As we look to bring in new companies and expand our existing industry, that effort has to be led from the local level," she said. “And you can’t have economic development without workforce development, so pulling us in on that effort just makes sense.”

Taylor said the office plans to create internships that will help students understand the world of workforce and industry development.

“As we build this office, we want to bring in new ideas and help students get the opportunities that they need,” she said. “We’ve got some really creative people out there, and we want to give them a chance to learn.”

Although Accelerate MS already had a presence in north Mississippi, the local office will provide a hub for staff in the region, Taylor said.

“This gives a place for our regional staff to call home, and it gives us a place to bring industry partners and show them what we have to offer,” she said.

“Having an office in the region, having us formally there, shows industry that we’re not just an entity that’s going to swoop in and swoop out. We live there, too.”

TOP: Courtney Taylor (left), executive director of Accelerate MS, takes a tour of Accelerate MS’s new office space with William Nicholas (center), director of economic development and Insight Park, and Ryan Miller, CEO of Oxford Lafayette Incorporated. Having all three entities in one place will make the north Mississippi region more approachable to businesses, Nicholas said. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services