Recommendation 1
Increase training at educational institutions for in-demand skills.
The United States should expand opportunities for students to gain exposure to and training and/or retraining in the high-demand technical and foundational skills needed to thrive in the new economy in the following ways:
- Congress should ensure that the Higher Education Act reauthorization includes expanded Workforce Pell Grants and opens the Federal Pell Grant system to short-term skilled worker education programs.
- Employers and educational leaders should engage with Congress and educational policymakers to align funding priorities with labor market realities. This effort should include partnering with the U.S. Department of Education to ensure that career and technical education programs culminate in meaningful credentials or industry certifications in high-demand, high-skill fields.
- Congress should reform the Federal Work-Study system to allow for off-campus, work-based learning opportunities.