“Unless states take all three criteria into account — which they are not required to do by federal law — a program may be considered aligned to an occupation that meets the high-skill, high-wage, in-demand test simply because the occupation requires any sort of training beyond high school,” states the post, published by The Institute for College Access & Success, or TICAS.
“Congress set federal standards to govern program eligibility for Workforce Pell Grants with the goal that they will lead students to high-quality training that will ultimately lead to stronger employment and earning outcomes,” the TICAS post continues. “It is incumbent upon states to ensure that approved programs meet and exceed those standards.”
The blog post includes an analysis of how 16 states defined a high-skill, high-wage or in-demand sector of occupation, and whether they require programs to meet all three criteria, as do states such as Iowa, South Dakota, and Texas.
“Doing so will ensure that the 'high-skill' requirement does not become a loophole,” the post states.
Most states, such as Ohio, the blog post states, only require occupations to meet one of the three criteria.
The blog post singles out Alabama’s Five Star Demand Rubric as being exemplary. Under the rubric, an occupation is eligible for Workforce Pell Grants if the occupation meets certain requirements, such as exceeding 70% of the median regional wage; being projected to grow and having at least 15 openings in the region per year.
The TICAS blog urges states to create a plan that updates the definitions of high-skill, high-wage and in-demand occupations when programs are up for reapproval.
As the EDU Ledger has reported, Workforce Pell Grants became available this past July 1 to help people pay for short-term high-quality workforce training programs at accredited schools.
The grants – expected to range between $430 and $4,310, depending on the person’s financial need – became law in 2025 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
