By Piper Hutchinson | Louisiana Illuminator
Students in Louisiana will soon be able to receive federal grants, once exclusively available to attend four-year schools, to take part in short-term workforce training programs. But strict reporting requirements could make it difficult for programs to remain eligible.
Beginning July 1, the federal Pell Grant program, which gives low-income and nontraditional students grants to attend college, was expanded to include workforce training. The expansion was part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a wide-ranging law approved last year that included dramatic changes to higher education financing.
In the coming months, Louisiana students will have access to grants averaging $2,200, which do not have to be paid back, to get credentialed in eight- to 15-week programs for high-demand jobs in the state. The qualifying programs approved by the state labor and economic development departments, include carpentry, construction, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning service, among others.
The Pell Grant program was created in 1980 to assist low-income students. Monty Sullivan, former president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, was a key leader in persuading Congress to adopt Workforce Pell.
The Workforce Pell program comes with some challenges for students and participating schools.
Unlike traditional Pell Grants, schools that accept Workforce Pell will have stringent reporting requirements. Their programs can only remain eligible if 70% of recipients earn the credential, a very high rate for workforce training programs in which students tend to be older and have other obligations such as jobs and families.
The schools will also have to prove Workforce Pell recipients have gotten jobs within a few months of completing the credential.
Richard Nelson, the state’s current community college system president, said these requirements might impact what programs remain eligible beyond the first year of the Workforce Pell program, as the state doesn’t currently fully track those metrics.
For students, one complicating factor is that the Workforce Pell Grant might not cover the full cost of a training program.
“If you tell somebody that you can take this class, it’ll triple your salary or triple your wage, but you have to have $2,000 first,” Nelson said, “I mean, for a lot of folks, that’s out of reach, and so having that [Pell Grant] support … helps close that gap.”
Nelson said the Pell Grant can be stacked alongside state financial aid, including the MJ Foster Promise and TOPS Tech programs.
The MJ Foster Promise Program is the primary way older students currently finance community and technical college in Louisiana, but it has more demand than it does dollars to dole out. Adding Workforce Pell into the mix will allow the state to stretch those dollars further, Nelson said.
To qualify for Workforce Pell, a student must meet the same requirements as traditional Pell recipients, which include having “exceptional financial need” and having not earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Students can apply by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Workforce training was a key priority for Gov. Jeff Landry when he took office in January 2024. Since then, the legislature has increased funding for the programs, including an additional $23 million for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System this year alone.
Lawmakers have also increased financial aid available to students for workforce training. Proponents of these programs have pointed out that although most jobs in Louisiana do not require a four-year degree, the vast majority of Louisiana’s student aid spending goes to students seeking bachelor’s degrees.
While the state spends about $286 million on its TOPS program at four-year schools, it spends approximately $25 million on students attending community and technical colleges.
“Louisiana is creating jobs and opportunities across our state, and Workforce Pell will help more Louisianans gain the skills to fill them,” Landry said in a news release this month. “By making short-term workforce training more affordable, we’re helping people prepare for good-paying careers while giving employers access to the talent they need to compete.”