Our Work

Workforce Pell Could Reach Nearly 200,000 Students, but Schools Can’t Deliver It Alone

• October 7, 2026
• Bruno Manno

The success of the new Workforce Pell Grant program, which for the first time lets federal Pell Grants pay for short-term job training, will largely depend on whether colleges and training providers can partner with the private sector to stand up new programs quickly, according to a new report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI).

Authored by Bruno Manno, Senior Advisor at PPI and leader of the What Works Lab, “Implementing Workforce Pell: Facilitating Public-Private Partnerships Toward Student Success” examines the program created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which extends Pell Grants to high-quality programs as short as eight weeks that prepare students for state-defined high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand jobs. Previously, Pell Grants could be used only for programs longer than 15 weeks. The National Skills Coalition has called the change “one of the largest shifts in federal higher education policy in decades.”

The expansion comes as students and employers rethink the conventional four-year degree. Undergraduate certificate enrollment has risen 14.7% since 2023, outpacing every other degree path, and demand for skilled trades grew 30% between 2022 and 2026. Manno calls the shift “opportunity pluralism,” the idea that students deserve education and training pathways that fit their circumstances rather than a one-size-fits-all route through college.

But implementation will be a challenge. To qualify, programs must meet a 70% completion rate, a 70% job placement rate within 180 days, and an earnings test, and states have considerable leeway in how they carry out the program. The Department of Education projects nearly 200,000 recipients as the program matures, yet many institutions, especially smaller trade and vocational schools, lack the staff, data systems, and technology to launch new programs quickly. Launching a new academic program costs $200,000 to $500,000 on average, and one study found that 30% of new programs failed within five years.

“Workforce Pell could be the most significant change to federal student aid in decades, but a new funding stream doesn’t build a welding program or a medical assistant course by itself,” said Manno. “Schools will need private partners to design courses, stand up technology and connect students with employers. Congress should give those partnerships the certainty to do that work.”

To close those gaps, the report finds:

• Public-private partnerships, often structured as revenue-sharing agreements, let schools draw on private-sector expertise in program design, technology, marketing, employer engagement and student support while shifting financial risk to the partner

• Nearly three-quarters of higher education leaders say such partnerships are better equipped than in-house teams to deliver speed, innovation and specialized expertise

• Employer partners help keep programs aligned with labor market demand, a key requirement for Workforce Pell eligibility

• States are already putting partnerships to work, from Oklahoma, where CareerTech “career cluster” students posted a 94% placement rate in 2024, to Virginia’s relaunched InternshipsVA initiative and Ohio’s proposed JOBS Act

Manno recommends that Congress codify the “bundled services” guidance issued by the Obama administration in 2011, which allows colleges to share tuition revenue with private partners that provide a package of services. Because that guidance is neither law nor regulation, multiyear partnership agreements could be upended by a future administration, a risk that surfaced in 2023 when the Biden administration moved to tighten rules on colleges’ third-party partners before delaying the effort amid pushback from schools, experts and employers. Lawmakers should act quickly, Manno argues, before lingering uncertainty holds back the program’s full potential.

Read and download the report here.