Workforce Pell Is Coming—Are Our Systems Designed for Completion and Employment?

By Fahim F. Karim
Manager of economic stability and mobility at Employ DMV 

Beginning in July 2026, the Workforce Pell Grant will expand access to federal financial aid for short-term, workforce-aligned credential programs. While much of the early discussion has focused on eligibility and funding mechanics—particularly institutional approval and program length—Workforce Pell represents something more consequential: a shift in how success is defined.For the first time at scale, eligibility for federal aid in short-term programs is explicitly tied to performance benchmarks—70 percent program completion and 70 percent employment. This signals a quiet but profound disruption, with implications for higher education, workforce development, high schools, and policy systems.

The central question is no longer who can enroll. It is whether our systems are designed to support learners through completion and into employment.

This first post in a multi-part series focuses on systems-level readiness. Before examining specific interventions, instructional models, or credentials, the field must first reflect on the structures, assumptions, and partnerships that shape learner outcomes.

Why Completion and Employment Change the Stakes

Persistence—the ability of learners to continue and complete a program—is often a stronger predictor of long-term success than initial enrollment. Yet across U.S. postsecondary education, persistence and completion remain uneven, particularly for adult learners, part-time students, and those balancing work, caregiving, or reentry responsibilities.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the national six-year completion rate across two- and four-year institutions has plateaued at approximately 61 percent. Against this backdrop, Workforce Pell’s 70 percent completion requirement represents a meaningful departure from current norms. Many institutions would need to rethink systems, partnerships, and learner pathways to consistently meet this threshold.

Disparities become even more pronounced when viewed by institutional selectivity. Highly selective institutions—those admitting fewer than 25 percent of applicants—achieve completion rates approaching 89 percent on average, while open-admissions institutions average closer to 29 percent. These open-access institutions disproportionately serve the populations Workforce Pell is intended to benefit: working adults, learners with caregiving responsibilities, returning citizens, and individuals balancing education with employment.

This highlights a structural tension at the heart of Workforce Pell. The institutions positioned to drive the greatest gains in economic mobility are often operating within systems least designed for high completion and employment outcomes. Without intentional alignment, Workforce Pell risks reinforcing inequities—not because learners lack ability or motivation, but because systems were not built for consistent completion at scale.

Where Structural Barriers Often Exist

Completion and employment outcomes are rarely shaped by a single program or institution. Instead, they emerge from how effectively multiple systems work together.

Common structural challenges include:

• Fragmented learner pathways across education, workforce, and support systems.
• Duplicative eligibility and intake processes.
• Misaligned definitions of success across partners.
• Unclear referral and handoff mechanisms.
• Limited coordination of supportive services.

From a learner’s perspective, these challenges often show up as confusion, delays, and disengagement. From a system perspective, they translate into lower persistence, reduced completion, and weaker employment outcomes.

A Systems-Readiness Framework for Workforce Pell

The following Systems-Readiness Framework is offered as a reflective tool to help organizations assess readiness without prescribing solutions. The questions are intentionally framed to encourage shared inquiry and cross-functional dialogue.

How to Use These Questions

These questions are most powerful when explored collectively—bringing together academic leadership, workforce partners, finance teams, advising staff, and employer engagement leaders. Workforce Pell will reward systems that learn, adapt, and act together.

1. Learner Pathway Readiness

• If we were designing the learner experience from scratch, which system or process might offer the greatest opportunity to improve completion and employment outcomes?
• How clearly are learner journeys mapped from entry to completion to employment?
• In what ways do pathways accommodate multiple entry points, including adult learners, returning citizens, and high school transitions?
• Where might learners experience friction or complex handoffs between systems?

Reflection: Where might systems be unintentionally relying on learners to self-navigate?

2. Completion and Employment Alignment

• How aligned are current definitions of completion across partners, and where might greater clarity be helpful?
• How are employment outcomes currently measured and validated?
• In what ways is responsibility for outcomes shared across partners?

Reflection: Where might deeper collective ownership strengthen learner success?

3. Higher Education–Workforce Development Partnership Readiness

Strong collaboration between Higher Education and Workforce Development is essential under Workforce Pell.

Workforce Development organizations often contribute:

• Career navigation and coaching
• Supportive services such as childcare and transportation
• Employer incentives and placement support

When Workforce Development partners are aware of Workforce Pell–eligible programs, referrals can become more direct and coordinated. In turn, learners may access both Pell funding and workforce supports—when systems are aligned.

Reflection: Where might improved alignment between Higher Education and Workforce Development make the learner experience more seamless?

4. Employer Demand and Skill Alignment

Under Workforce Pell, institutions face an important question: which programs should be offered?

Too often, programs are designed around competencies, while employers hire for applied skills. Workforce Pell heightens the consequences of this disconnect. Programs must align not only to credential requirements, but also to employer expectations that lead to hiring.

Reflection: In what ways are employers currently shaping program demand and skill expectations—and where might deeper engagement add value?

5. High School and Early Pathway Alignment

For high school leaders and postsecondary partners, Workforce Pell underscores the importance of early pathway awareness.

• How intentional are current efforts to help students understand which credentials lead to employment?
• How connected are high schools to institutions offering Workforce Pell–eligible programs?
• How visible and attainable are career pathways for learners?

Reflection: Where might earlier guidance strengthen learner confidence and momentum?

6. Financial and Strategic Readiness - A Board & CFO Perspective

For institutional leaders and finance committees, Workforce Pell represents more than a new funding stream; it signals a structural shift in how revenue is realized and sustained. Unlike traditional Pell, where awards are tied primarily to enrollment, Workforce Pell revenue is linked to completion and employment outcomes. This changes the financial calculus and opens new opportunities for mission-aligned revenue growth—if programs are designed to deliver results.

A Large Untapped Market

• ~40 million U.S. adults have some college but no credential¹
• Represents a large, untapped pool for Workforce Pell–supported pathways

To illustrate the potential revenue, we model three conservative-to-ambitious scenarios based on:

• A 1% share of the some college, no credential population engaging in Workforce Pell programs.
• A 70% completion rate (aligned with Workforce Pell’s outcome expectations).
• Two main semesters per year (fall/spring).

This approach helps boards and CFOs visualize how programs might contribute to institutional revenue while emphasizing completion-driven funding

Under the assumption that only 1% of 40 million adults engage in Workforce Pell pathways annually, an individual institution capturing a share of that activity might model scenarios like:

Enrollment & Revenue Scenarios

(Estimates based on prorated Workforce Pell award levels ranging from ~$1,200–$4,500 per completed learner, depending on program length. See New America’s Workforce Pell overview for reference.³)

Reflection:

• Which investments improve predictable completion—and therefore revenue?
• How might partnerships expand access and scale outcomes?
• Are current financial models aligned to capture this opportunity?
• What are some external organizations that we can partner with that will accelerate in finding and enrolling qualified Workforce Pell eligible learners? (Organizations like myFootpath)

Data Sources:

1. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Some College, No Credential

2. New America, Workforce Pell Overview

7. Policy and System-Level Enablement

Policy plays a critical role in enabling collaboration—or reinforcing fragmentation.

Today, learners often navigate separate eligibility processes for Workforce Pell through Higher Education and for workforce supports such as WIOA. This raises an important systems question:

Reflection: What opportunities might exist to streamline eligibility access—where allowable under federal and state policy—in ways that reduce learner burden while improving outcomes?

A Learner-Centered Ecosystem Perspective

The Learner-Centered Workforce Pell Ecosystem underscores a simple truth: learners sit at the intersection of education, workforce development, employer, and policy systems. Each system may function effectively on its own, yet still fall short if alignment is weak.

Workforce Pell does not introduce a new learner population. It introduces new expectations of the system.

Looking Ahead

This first post is intentionally reflective. Workforce Pell is not simply a funding opportunity—it is a test of system alignment. This is not merely an administrative issue. It is a system design consideration with direct implications for persistence, completion, and employment.

The next post in this series will explore the role of intermediaries and how thoughtful credit for prior learning processes can accelerate learner outcomes.

Fahim F. Karim is the manager of economic stability and mobility at Employ DMV, advancing education-to-employment systems across the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia region. A Maryland Workforce Association award recipient, Fahim integrates strategy, operations, and partnerships within his work to reduce opportunity-limiting barriers and strengthen workforce outcomes and economic mobility.