With Workforce Pell prepared to launch this summer, the Education Department estimates major growth in its initial years.
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After the U.S. Department of Education finalized regulations for Workforce Pell last week, the looming question centers on what its impact might be—how quickly and widely Pell Grants will roll out to low-income students in short-term training programs.
Department officials estimated over 100,000 students could benefit in the initial years of the program, though they acknowledged in their final rule that making programs eligible for Workforce Pell will take time and come at some cost for states and higher ed institutions. Programs eight to 15 weeks long are eligible if at least 70 percent of students enrolled complete the program and find a related job within 180 days. State governments also need to determine the programs are high skill, high wage or in demand.
The department projected 184,000 students could take advantage of Workforce Pell in fiscal year 2027–28, the second year of implementing the policy, according to estimates based on an analysis of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data. Further, over the next 10 years, the department expects enrollment to increase at least 3 percent to 191,000 by the 2037–38 academic year. Over all, the program is projected to have a net budget impact of $3.2 billion over a decade. (The enrollment estimates reflect the department’s low-end projections. On the high end, officials estimate 13 percent growth.)
