Train For the Job, Not Just the Credential.

A quiet but consequential shift is reshaping higher education: more adults are turning to short-term training programs as fast, flexible, affordable ways to build new skills, improve their job prospects, and increase earning potential. Fueling that momentum is a new law passed by Congress earlier this year that expands Pell Grant eligibility to short-term programs. It’s an overdue change reflecting adult students’ economic reality and businesses’ needs.

Dr. Chauncy LennonThis shift is part of a broader trend. In just the last few years, states invested more than $5.6 billion in programs that help working adults earn industry-recognized credentials in high-demand fields. These efforts have bipartisan support and are championed by governors, adult learners, business leaders, and community colleges alike. To maximize these investments, we can’t only focus on boosting enrollment and completion—we must also ensure that credentials put learners on a path to economic prosperity.

Expanding financial aid to short-term credentials is a critical first step. Today’s students aren’t just recent high school graduates; they are parents, career changers, and frontline workers. While approximately 30 million high school graduates will enter the labor force in the next decade, they’ll be vastly outnumbered by two groups already in the workforce: the 40 million adults with some college, but no credential, and the 50 million adults whose highest level of education is a high school diploma.

Or, as many HR professionals put it: the workforce of the future is already working.

These adults are not likely to pursue a traditional degree. Most don’t want to be in school for years or take on significant debt. Instead, they want targeted, practical training for in-demand skills to upgrade their jobs or open doors to better ones, especially as industry practices, technology, and automation rapidly evolve. That’s where short-term credentials come in, and public investments in these affordable, occupation-specific, industry-recognized, and quickly-completed credentials address a real and pressing need for many adults balancing work, family, and other responsibilities.

Brooke DeRenzisUntil now, too many of these learners have had to pay out of pocket for these programs, even when the skills they learn are in high demand. Workforce Pell, along with state financial aid programs, changes that. These policy shifts signal something powerful: adult learners deserve the same support as degree-seeking students, and our education and workforce systems must evolve to serve them.

But expanding access is only part of the work. We also need to ensure that short-term credentials are actually worth it, especially as more public dollars are being used to expand and support them. That means asking a simple question: Does this credential improve someone’s economic standing?