Opinion: Workforce Pell Grants will create high-paying jobs for more Americans

Congress has a critical opportunity to make a transformative investment in our nation’s greatest asset: the American worker.

While we are blessed to have rich natural resources — plentiful oil and natural gas, rare minerals, waterways like the Great Lakes and Mississippi River, and sprawling forests and extensive coastlines — none yield a greater return on investment than the men and women who build our country’s future every day.

America’s skilled workforce is unparalleled worldwide in technology, health care, trades and manufacturing. Our productivity per hour is consistently among the highest on Earth. That’s why the best path to a booming economy is to swell the ranks of our skilled workforce through education and training for more Americans.

Congress should recognize the effort and commitment of American workers by funding the skills training and technical education most laborers rely on. The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act , sponsored by Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), and Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), aims to do just that. This legislation proposes to extend Pell Grant eligibility to broaden the scope of educational opportunities for millions of Americans, as Congress intended when they created these grants in 1972.

Half a century ago, it was commonly understood that funding a college degree for low-income students was the best way to upskill America’s workforce. Colleges were focused on preparing students for professional roles at the highest levels of government, science, business and the arts.

Today, however, many degree programs have lost sight of their mission. And their one-size-fits-all solution to workforce development has become outdated. Our educational system must offer clear and viable pathways to the American Dream aside from four-year degrees.

Unfortunately, stipulations baked into the original Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program that established the Pell Grant prevent many of today’s excellent worker education programs from qualifying. For example, the original Pell Grant program restricts eligibility to programs that are at least 600 “clock hours,” or 15 weeks, in length. In practice, about 90 percent of Pell Grants are used by students enrolled at traditional two- and four-year campuses. This excludes many high-quality, shorter-term, industry-aligned education programs that could lead to immediate employment in well-paying jobs.

For example, software development “boot camps” that teach coding and other skills related to digital infrastructure led to salary increases of $10,000 to $20,000 for almost all participants and increases of more than $30,000 for nearly half. Yet Pell Grants, the main form of financial assistance for low-income families trying to help boost their child’s career prospects, cannot be used to pay for these programs, leaving behind countless underserved communities. Pretending college is the path for everyone is incredibly outdated.

Updating Pell Grant eligibility to make room for professional programs outside of colleges would not create some kind of funding free-for-all — the augmented program will still impose strict requirements. The proposed legislation requires that these shorter-term programs lead to a recognized postsecondary credential, meet the needs of local or regional employers and be aligned with career pathways.

It includes additional quality assurance criteria restricting eligibility to programs with completion and job placement rates of 70 percent or more. Specifically, programs in fields such as health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing and skilled trades are likely to benefit.

One good example of a career pathway that would immediately benefit from the Bipartisan Workplace Pell Act is additive manufacturing, sometimes called 3D printing, of metal parts. Many American manufacturers experience significant logjams when they need to replace a cast metal part for one of their machines due to the deindustrialization of traditional manufacturing towns.

Instead of ordering a part from overseas, many production facilities have now turned to 3D printing these parts themselves, with an industrial-grade printer on location. It doesn’t take a college degree to become a 3D printing technician — the machining skill can be learned through intensive certificate programs, sometimes directly from the manufacturer. Workplace Pell will help affordable certificate programs like these proliferate in key geographic areas.

Workforce Pell is a bipartisan initiative because Americans on both sides of the aisle are ready to stop restricting Pell Grants to college degree programs. By expanding eligibility to include high-quality, short-term workforce training programs, this legislation can help more Americans access the education they need to succeed in today’s economy. It is an investment in our greatest resource — the American worker — and a significant enhancement of our national productivity. This legislation will ensure that the benefits of education and training are accessible to all skilled workers, no matter their chosen career.

Linda McMahon is the chair of the board at the America First Policy Institute and the chair of its Center for the American Worker. She is the former administrator of the Small Business Administration.

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