Our nation is facing critical shortages in the healthcare workforce. While you, your teams, and your students are doing their part to fill those gaps, policymakers must do their part in addressing this crisis as well.

In partnership with lawmakers, we must play an active role in providing accessible and affordable pathways for learners to gain real-world skills so they can quickly step into healthcare roles ready to work. That’s where the new Workforce Pell program can help.

What Is Workforce Pell?

Workforce Pell is a federal grant program positioned to play a significant role in attracting new healthcare professionals by providing funding to learners pursuing short-term workforce training programs. While traditional Pell grants help students from low-income households pay for two- or four-year college degree programs, Workforce Pell expands the grant to fund high-quality, short-term, non-degree training programs.

By shortening the path to a job, Workforce Pell grants can provide the flexibility many adult learners need when switching or starting a new career. Specifically, these grants can help recipients gain the skills needed to start a career in high-demand fields, such as allied health, without incurring unnecessary debt.

While the details of which programs will qualify for Workforce Pell funding are still being finalized and will be determined by states, we at NHA see this as a promising opportunity. At a time when rising costs, long wait times, and labor shortages continue to adversely affect healthcare, programs like Workforce Pell can enhance healthcare career development pathways and help alleviate workforce shortages.

NHA’s Workforce Pell Advocacy

Schools and programs across the country are still digesting what this new funding will mean for them and their students. At NHA, we’re specifically watching:

• Program Qualifications and Approval: How will programs demonstrate eligibility and meet federal requirements?
• State-Level Implementation: Because implementation will vary by state, which states are having success, and which are struggling? How can we help policymakers get this right?
• Supporting High-Demand Careers: How can policymakers prioritize programs that deliver workforce-ready students for high-demand roles like healthcare?

Please share your perspective on the Workforce Pell program, especially your thoughts on the questions above. We’d like to share Workforce Pell implementation challenges and solutions with you and with policymakers so that it can meet the promise many of us have.

Share your point of view with Kurt Burkum, NHA Senior Director of Government Relations, at kurt.burkum@ascendlearning.com.

How You Can Get Involved

Are you an administrator looking to implement a Workforce Pell-qualifying program? Are you a student looking for a Workforce Pell opportunity? What are your hopes or concerns for Workforce Pell? We want to know!

Your real‑world experiences help set our priorities and strengthen our advocacy, and your perspective matters! NHA invites you to engage with our Government Relations and Public Affairs team to share your real-world perspective. Your experiences help us deepen policymakers' understanding of and support for allied health roles. Our voices are stronger when we advocate together.

If you have questions on Workforce Pell or would like to support our advocacy, please contact Kurt Burkum, NHA Senior Director of Government Relations, at kurt.burkum@ascendlearning.com.