Workforce Pell Brings Job Training Aid to Texas Colleges

Low-income students at five Texas community colleges can now use federal Workforce Pell grants to pay for short-term job training, the first time Pell money has covered programs that short in the state. The U.S. Department of Education approved the colleges this month, opening a new pathway into skilled work for Texans who cannot afford a traditional degree. The five schools, Kilgore, Weatherford, Central Texas, Texas Southmost and San Jacinto, will offer nine Workforce Pell programs in fields such as phlebotomy, pharmacy technology, welding, machining, HVAC and electrical line work. Programs can run as short as eight weeks, and Pell grants do not have to be repaid. President Donald Trump's budget bill last summer expanded the federal Pell Grant beyond traditional degree programs to cover short-term workforce training under Workforce Pell. For more than a decade, at least one in three Texas students has depended on the Pell Grant, which typically goes to families earning roughly less than $50,000 a year. ## Where Workforce Pell Training Is Starting Each college will focus on local employer needs. At Kilgore College in East Texas, students can train as electrical power linemen, phlebotomy technicians or pharmacy technicians. Weatherford College in North Texas will offer HVAC, basic machining and advanced machining, while Central Texas, Texas Southmost and San Jacinto will cover pharmacy technology, structural welding and phlebotomy respectively. "This was a true game changer in higher education," said Tod Allen Farmer, president of Weatherford College. "It's going to allow a whole new group of citizens access to higher education that have never been able to afford it before." College leaders say average Pell grants of about $1,700 can make job training affordable for working adults. ## Workforce Pell Rules: Short Programs, High Standards To qualify for Workforce Pell funding, programs must show that at least 70% of students finish and at least 70% find work within six months, guardrails meant to ensure federal dollars flow to training that actually leads to jobs. Students apply through the FAFSA, the same form used for traditional financial aid. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said Texas is leading the way in making postsecondary education work for families, calling the approved programs market-driven alternatives to traditional two- and four-year degrees. Federal officials are approving additional Workforce Pell programs in Texas on a rolling basis, with more colleges expected to qualify. ## What Comes Next The Workforce Pell approvals arrived alongside a separate $10.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to a consortium led by the Alamo Colleges District, which will help Texas community colleges create and expand short-term programs eligible for the aid. The four-year initiative is expected to serve 22,000 students. For Texas employers in health care, energy, construction and the skilled trades, the expansion of job training aid could not come at a better time. Business groups say open positions in those fields have outpaced the supply of credentialed workers, and shorter programs get trainees into paychecks faster. The broader bet behind Workforce Pell is that the country needs more on-ramps to good careers, not just four-year degrees. If the Texas experiment delivers strong completion and hiring numbers, other states are likely to follow, and the eight-week certificate may become as familiar as the associate's degree. For students weighing their options, the message from college leaders is simple: a short certificate in an in-demand trade can pay off faster than a degree that takes years. With tuition covered for qualifying programs, the biggest remaining cost is time, and for many working Texans, eight weeks is a price they can afford.