How Apprenticeships Can Help Colleges Access Workforce Pell

The promise of Workforce Pell could expand opportunities for Americans seeking short-term career training—and, if it manifests, the opportunities will extend to thousands of people who enroll in certain registered apprenticeships, according to new guidance from the Department of Labor.

Although apprenticeships weren’t mentioned by name in the law passed by Congress—which expanded the types of programs low-income students can spend Pell dollars on—the Department of Education included several provisions in the regulations that make it possible for many registered apprenticeship programs to qualify. President Donald Trump is a proponent of apprenticeships—his administration has announced a goal of getting one million people into apprenticeship programs.

Registered apprenticeships must include related technical instruction, and Labor said in the guidance that Workforce Pell can help the sponsor cover expenses related to that component.

While the policy allowing for Workforce Pell went into effect July 1, only five programs have been approved to date. The slow rollout is in part because of the strict eligibility criteria and role that state leaders play in determining which types of programs can qualify.

Joe E. Ross, president of the apprenticeship-degree provider Reach University, said the new guidance will help apprenticeship programs circumvent several of the main challenges that colleges might encounter while trying to stand up Workforce Pell programs.

“I think what people are feeling right now is that Workforce Pell looks hard and complicated,” Ross said. “What the Department of Labor has done is created a way for it to be easier by leveraging the apprenticeship system as kind of a fast track for Workforce Pell.”

According to the DOL guidance, released last week, programs that partner with registered apprenticeships can automatically qualify as “high-skill, high-wage or in-demand” if part of the instruction comes from a college—something that institutions would otherwise have to prove to state leaders. Those programs can then outsource up to 49 percent of instruction to an outside entity, like a labor union, employer or another training provider, compared to the maximum 25 percent for nonapprenticeship Workforce Pell programs. The guidance also makes clear that programs that include more than 15 weeks of instruction can still be eligible, as long as those weeks are broken up by on-the-job learning.

The DOL encouraged registered apprenticeship providers to consider partnering with colleges for the training, to break up instructional time in longer programs and to consider what funding streams could be combined with Workforce Pell to cover the full cost of attendance for apprentices.

Although the guidance just came out, Ross said he expects the clarity it provides will lead to an increase in institutions applying for Workforce Pell approval.

Deborah Kobes, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Urban Institute, said that while most registered apprenticeships are offered by labor unions or employers, community colleges have often partnered with apprenticeship programs to handle parts of the instruction.

She said that by including registered apprenticeships in Workforce Pell, the federal government is incentivizing more colleges to begin offering apprenticeship programs or expand their existing offerings.

“Apprenticeships are in an interesting space because they’re not a traditional higher ed program, so in that sense they align with the sort of workforce goals of having more high-quality training opportunities,” Kobes said. “But they’re different from most Workforce Pell programs because they are designed as long-term programs.”

She said that much of the instruction in apprenticeship programs already comes from industry experts, and allowing programs to qualify even if they outsource 49 percent of their content is a way of recognizing that.

“Being a sponsor at the community college is a really great way to engage small and medium-sized businesses in apprenticeship. Because, as a small employer, if you only have one or two apprentices, you might not have that scale that you need to really deliver the related instructions,” Kobes said. However, “if a community college takes the lead on delivering an apprenticeship, they can aggregate the interest of local employers.”

Mark D’Amico, a professor of higher education at the University of North Caroline Charlotte, said that registered apprenticeships will still have to meet all the other qualifications in order to be approved for Workforce Pell, such as offering academic credit and meeting certain thresholds for completion rates and job-placement rates.

“The Workforce Pell–approved program is still through a Title IV–eligible institution,” D’Amico said, referring to the section of federal law that authorizes student aid. “For students and apprentices, they’re going to be receiving higher education through the higher ed institution with all of the protections that would be a part of approval for a nonapprenticeship Workforce Pell program.”