DECS Home WINJob Center Workforce Dev. Training ABE/GED/ESL Continuing Education What Customers Are Saying MS Corridor Consortium
		DECS: A Brief History The Workforce and Education Act of 1994 created a new paradigm of service for Mississippi’s employers and workforce participants. The concept-rich legislation provided for the creation and development of regionally based systems for non-credit education and training that can respond to Mississippi’s workforce and employer needs in a timely, well-coordinated fashion while maximizing the use of resources. The act established a State Workforce Development Council composed of 24 public and private sector leaders, 15 member District Workforce Development Councils affiliated with each of Mississippi’s 15 community and junior colleges and Workforce Development Centers designed to meet almost any workforce assessment, training or placement services need. Perhaps more importantly, it promotes the collaboration with and among agencies and entities to increase the system’s potential for corporate training at a time when it is needed most. Itawamba Community College is a participant in this new paradigm of service to business, industry and government. The sections that follow describe the non-credit programs and services available from ICC and delivered though its Department of Economic and Community Services. Mississippi's Workforce Training Program The Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Act of 2004 seeks to provide quality education and training for the citizens of Mississippi to obtain the skills needed to be more productive and have an improved quality of life. The program also provides the employers of our state opportunities to create a better trained and educated workforce. The State Board of Community and Junior Colleges provides visionary leadership and technical guidance to the state’s 15 public two-year institutions to ensure training services provide a positive impact on Mississippi’s workforce. The Workforce Development Program at the community and junior college level is dedicated to improving the economy in each local district by improving the skill competencies of the current and future workforce. These programs and services are designed to enhance an employee’s performance and thus achieve organizational objectives and to ensure Mississippi workers have the skills needed to compete in today’s globally competitive environment. The ultimate goal of the workforce program is to develop a seamless workforce training system that ensures the presence of a highly skilled workforce, thereby advancing the economic prosperity of the region by supporting existing industries as well as creating new high-skill and high-wage job opportunities.