Why the Council Exists
On June 12, 2025, Governor Tate Reeves announced the launch of the Mississippi AI Talent Accelerator Program (MAI-TAP) — a $9.1 million initiative to expand AI, machine learning, and technical capacity across Mississippi’s institutions of higher learning. In particular, MAI-TAP is a partnership between AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
As part of that announcement, the AI Workforce Readiness Council was established through the State Workforce Investment Board and AccelerateMS to serve as the coordinating body for the initiative. Furthermore, each MAI-TAP awardee institution appoints a designated representative to actively participate on the Council.
The Council is chaired by Dr. Kollin Napier, Director of the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN). Ultimately, its charge is to ensure that Mississippi’s AI talent pipeline — from K–12 through postsecondary and into the workforce — is aligned, equitable, and forward-looking.
Established by the Governor
Created as part of the MAI-TAP announcement on June 12, 2025, the Council operates through the State Workforce Investment Board and AccelerateMS — therefore grounding it in Mississippi’s existing workforce infrastructure.
Alignment, Not Mandates
Rather than setting standards, prescribing curriculum, or creating policy, the Council serves as a strategic coordination body. Instead, it builds shared language, shared priorities, and shared expectations across education and workforce.
Cross-Sector Representation
Specifically, the Council brings together representatives from community colleges, public universities, private institutions, state agencies, K–12 education, and industry partners — ensuring no single perspective dominates the direction.
How the Council Works
Three Working Teams, One Coordinated Effort
Specifically, the Council organizes its work through three focused teams. Each team addresses a distinct dimension of Mississippi’s AI readiness — and together, they ensure that priorities, curriculum, and industry needs remain aligned as the field evolves.
Statewide AI Priorities
This team defines what Mississippi needs at the strategic level — identifying the state’s highest-priority AI focus areas and consequently ensuring that education, workforce, and policy efforts are oriented toward the same goals.
- ›First, identify Mississippi’s strategic AI priorities across sectors
- ›Then, align education and workforce investments to shared goals
- ›Additionally, inform policy conversations with evidence-based direction
- ›Altogether, serve as the Council’s strategic compass
Curriculum Framework
In practice, this team builds the shared learning progression that defines what AI competency looks like at every stage — from K–12 through postsecondary and into the workforce — thereby creating handoff visibility across every transition point.
- ›First, define AI skill domains and learning progressions
- ›Next, articulate stage-specific performance expectations
- ›Similarly, align with national and international standards
- ›Altogether, serve as the Council’s educational backbone
Business & Industry Alignment
Above all, this team ensures that what Mississippi teaches matches what employers need — connecting AI education to real workforce demand across healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, technology, public service, and beyond.
- ›First, gather and translate employer AI skill requirements
- ›Then, align credentials and training to workforce demand
- ›Moreover, engage industry partners across Mississippi’s key sectors
- ›Altogether, serve as the Council’s demand-side voice
Together, these three teams form a closed loop: Statewide AI Priorities sets the direction, the Curriculum Framework then translates that direction into learning expectations, and Business & Industry Alignment validates that what is taught reflects what the workforce actually needs. As a result, the outcome is a continuously aligned system — not a collection of disconnected efforts.
Born From a $9.1 Million
Statewide Investment
The Mississippi AI Talent Accelerator Program (MAI-TAP), announced by Governor Tate Reeves on June 12, 2025, awarded $9.1 million in grants to seven institutions of higher learning. Specifically, the program is a partnership between AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Development Authority, and Amazon Web Services.
In addition, MAI-TAP’s strategy is organized around five core areas: investing in human capital infrastructure, promoting AI and machine learning literacy for all Mississippians, aligning education with industry-specific use cases, upskilling for product innovation, and building research infrastructure.
As a result, the AI Workforce Readiness Council was established as the coordinating body for this initiative — ensuring that the investments made through MAI-TAP are not isolated institutional projects, but rather contributions to a coherent statewide system.
MAI-TAP Grant Awardees
$2.2M
$1.3M
$1.24M
$1.15M
$1.08M
$1.0M
$723K
In addition, several institutions are contributing through existing funding and collaborative efforts, including Co-Lin Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Hinds Community College, and the University of Mississippi.
Contributing Organizations & Institutions
The Council draws on expertise from across Mississippi’s education, workforce, industry, and public-sector landscape. Because of this broad representation, the Council’s work is practical, equitable, and aligned with the state’s economic realities.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
NVIDIA
Oxford-Lafayette Economic Development Foundation
MS Dept. of Information Technology Services
Alcorn State University
MS Dept. of Education
Belhaven University
MS Institutions of Higher Learning
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
MS Community College Board
Hinds Community College
MGCCC (Anchor Institution)
Jackson State University
Millsaps College
Mississippi State University
Center for Cyber Education
University of Mississippi
Pearl Public School District
Mississippi College
Tougaloo College
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Southern Mississippi
What the Council Does
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First, it defines shared AI skill domains and learning progressions across K–12, postsecondary, and workforce -
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Additionally, it identifies Mississippi’s strategic AI priorities across education and industry -
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Likewise, it aligns AI education with employer needs and sector-specific workforce demand -
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Moreover, it makes handoff expectations visible at every transition point in a learner’s journey -
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Furthermore, it establishes shared language and scope for alignment across institutions -
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Finally, it reviews and updates its work as AI evolves — a living, iterative process
What the Council Does Not Do
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It does not set state standards, required assessments, or proficiency cut scores -
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Nor does it prescribe courses, curriculum, lesson plans, tools, platforms, or vendors -
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Similarly, it does not establish policy, endorsements, compliance requirements, or accountability structures -
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Likewise, it does not replace detailed program design at individual institutions -
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Finally, it does not create legislation, requirements, or mandates of any kind