New Rule Opens Federal Aid to Short-Term Job Training

The U.S. Department of Education issued a long-awaited final rule on May 19 providing Pell Grant funding for short-term workforce development programs.

Starting July 1, “students will be able to receive Pell Grants for enrollment in high-quality, short-term educational programs that prepare them for high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand jobs,” the department said.

Federal Pell Grants are currently awarded to students in financial need to assist them in earning undergraduate degrees and certificate credentials programs. The new Workforce Pell programs are intended to bridge the gap between education and employment by allowing Pell Grants to be used for workforce training programs that prepare individuals for immediate employment in a short period of time.

Pell-eligible workforce programs, which must be offered by accredited institutions, are required to meet additional standards above those generally required to receive Pell Grants. Those measures are related to student outcomes including earnings, completion, and job placement rates.

“As the labor market changes, HR leaders need to focus on providing access to quality training programs that match organizational goals,” said Emily M. Dickens, J.D., chief administrative officer for SHRM. “Workforce Pell Grants give employees opportunities to develop specific skills, helping businesses stay competitive while supporting career advancement.”

Event: SHRM 2026

New Eligibility Standards Target Workforce Outcomes

Governors, in collaboration with their state workforce boards, will determine whether programs

are aligned with the requirements of in-demand industry sectors or occupations in each state.

To qualify for eligibility, job training programs must:

• Be a minimum of 8 weeks, but less than 15 weeks.
• Be 150-599 clock hours in length, or the equivalent number of credit hours.
• Lead to a recognized postsecondary credential, including a certificate or license.
• Pass 70 percent completion and 70 percent job-placement metrics using state-collected data.
• Must have been in existence for at least a year.
• Must pass a “value-added earnings” test based on the price of the program and how much graduates earn, to measure whether graduates are better off financially after completion.

Expanding Pell Grants for job training comes out of the Republicans’ 2025 tax-and-spending law but has received bipartisan support for many years.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that the Workforce Pell program will help fill labor shortages in industries such as skilled trades, manufacturing, and healthcare. “We have to fill our workforce shortage,” she said. “This is a new program where you can go in, get certifications, and get into the workforce and get a job. You can stack these credentials in electrical work, HVAC, carpentry. We are desperately in need of this workforce development,” McMahon said.

Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said that previously, “critical financial aid mechanisms like the Pell Grant were restricted to traditional degree pathways, limiting opportunities for students and widening our nation’s skills gap. Workforce Pell strengthens the connection between education and workforce needs, so businesses can grow while workers and their families thrive.”

Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott, D-Va., added that, “If implemented properly, expanding Pell Grant access could create new pathways for Americans to gain in-demand skills, increase their earning potential, and access greater economic mobility in today’s economy.”

Advocacy: Workforce Development

Accountability Measures Focus on Earnings and Job Placement

Wesley Whistle, project director in the Higher Education program at Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank New America, and a former policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education in the Biden administration, has been following the regulation from proposed to final rule stages.

“What changed? Not much structurally, but the department made targeted adjustments around implementation, accountability, and apprenticeships,” Whistle said.

“That continuity matters. States, accreditors, and institutions have already started building systems based on the proposed rule and the department clearly didn’t want to pull the rug out from under them,” he said.

A couple of notable changes include:

• Registered apprenticeships allowed more flexibility. The final rule allows programs tied to registered apprenticeships to contract out more than 25% but less than 50% of instruction. But apprenticeships are not exempt from the general rules, Whistle said. The coursework portion still needs to lead to a separate recognized postsecondary credential, and the job placement and completion rate requirements are still applicable, he said.
• Students enrolled in another education program during the value-added earnings measurement period are excluded from the metric. “This is a big deal,” Whistle said. “Under the proposed rule, programs could have been penalized for doing exactly what policymakers say they want, helping students continue their education. However, the department did not exclude those students from the job placement rate calculation, which I worry will incentivize programs to not encourage students who want to continue their education in a longer program that likely would lead to a better-paying job.”

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C., said that students who choose to continue their education after completing a Workforce Pell program should not be counted in the job placement rate impacting program eligibility. “We strongly believe that an exception should be made for students who continue their education after completing a Workforce Pell program,” he said. “Institutions have no way of controlling the decisions of the students who complete the program, and continued education ideally should be rewarded.”