It’s Time to Expand Pell Grants to Include Short Term Workforce Programs

Over the past few decades, most kids have grown up being told by their parents that getting a four-year college degree is the best way to get ahead in life. Today, however, as the cost of college has skyrocketed and employers have faced a shortage of skilled workers, people have started to look beyond traditional two and four-year colleges for their pathway to career success.

With so many employers in need of workers with qualifications in anything from IT services to healthcare to the culinary arts, short-term educational programs have been one of the fastest emerging career training opportunities for people looking to enter the workforce or change careers. These programs are typically highly accredited, providing workers with a quality education and the specific skills they need to thrive.

However, Washington lawmakers have created an unbalanced system that makes it harder for students to access these programs. Short-term training programs are popular, enjoy higher competition rates than two-year degrees, and tend to be dramatically cheaper than traditional colleges — but the cost can still be prohibitive, and very little financial aid in the form of grants or scholarships is available for them at the state, local, and federal levels. While some short-term programs are eligible for federal student loans, under current law, programs must span at least 600 hours over 15 weeks to qualify for Pell Grants.

The potential of these programs is also popular with working-class voters. Polling conducted last year by the Progressive Policy Institute found that 74% of voters without a college degree believe that more public investment in apprenticeships and career pathways is the best way to help workers get ahead in today’s economy.

The same poll found that 46% of voters without a college degree believe that affordable, short-term training programs that combine work and learning are the best path to building a good job and career, as opposed to a four-year college degree, joining a union, or more opportunities for them to start their own business.

There are local community colleges and for-profit colleges all across the country that offer the opportunity for people young and old to enter these in-demand industries, like the skilled trades, health care, food services, manufacturing, IT services, and more that could be better accessed if Washington makes the appropriate Pell reforms. These programs are invaluable for preparing people to enter their local workforce, yet they remain ineligible for the Pell Grant program.

Consider the local community college where I grew up, Colorado Mountain College, as an example. The in-district tuition is a little over $100 per credit hour, and offers dozens of high-quality short-term programs, including programs to become an EMT or firefighter. The college’s EMT and firefighter certificates are 12 credit hours, making them ineligible for federal financial aid. Simply allowing the Pell Grant to cover a high-quality, short-term program like this would cover the full cost of the certificate, allowing working-class individuals to have a better shot at getting ahead in life while serving their community.

Congress has the opportunity to address this critical gap in financial aid. H.R.6585, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, is a bill sponsored by Reps. Bobby Scott and Elise Stefanik that would allow high-quality short-term programs to be eligible for Pell Grants.

It’s a bipartisan bill that just makes sense — right now, there are millions of job openings in the U.S., and the fastest-growing occupations don’t need people with two or four-year college degrees. The fact that federal funds are available for students getting humanities degrees, but not for students looking to earn the practical skills needed for some of the most in-demand jobs, is simply bad policy.

If Democrats and Republicans want to show their support for the working class, they should work to bring the Pell Grant program into the modern era by passing Reps. Scott and Stefanik’s bipartisan legislation during the lame-duck period. It’s long past time for the program to support everyone in the working class, not just those looking to receive two- or four-year degrees.