Federal grants for education after high school — worth hundreds of millions — will be available next month to Americans.
But many people aren’t aware of this potential free money, according to educators, researchers and policy analysts, the Washington Post reported.
Payouts averaging about $2,200 each will be available to learners in non-degree programs, including courses leading to certificates, occupational licenses and certifications, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
These new Workforce Pell Grants are the most dramatic expansion in more than 50 years of federal grants for education after high school, according to the Post. They are supposed to take effect July 20, but institutions can get started as early as July 1.
While Pell Grants have been previously limited to students pursuing associate and bachelor’s degrees, these will be extended to non-degree job training programs in high-demand fields — including nursing, phlebotomy, child care, truck driving, welding, car repair and HVAC.
The new policy is intended to help lower-income learners pay for short-term training programs as short as eight weeks, the Post reported.
However, states across the country are still scrambling to implement the policy to make the money available, the Post said, as Workforce Pell was created last summer as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
It has had to be set up so quickly that the National Governors Association called it “one of the most consequential near-term policy challenges” states have faced, according to the Post.
“There’s a huge awareness gap with people not understanding what it is, what programs are eligible and how much they can get,” Devin Purgason, associate vice president of student experience, marketing and outreach at Forsyth Tech, which is in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told the Post.
Fewer than half of people who could benefit most from the grant know about them, according to a survey by the higher education technology company Ellucian.
And fewer than one in 10 college counselors and career advisers feel prepared to offer advice regarding the Workforce Pell, according to a survey by the National College Attainment Network.
“The opportunity is going to be great,” Purgason said. “I just think we’re going to be very slow at this.”
The Education Department expects between 184,000 and 188,000 students per year to benefit from Workforce Pell, the Post reported, while the Congressional Budget Office says the number will be closer to 100,000.
There are 7.4 million recipients of Pell Grants annually who are pursuing associate and bachelor’s degrees.