Senator Collins Leads Bipartisan Group in Introducing Bill to Improve Access to High-Quality Job Training

Collins, King “JOBS Act” would help expand access to Pell Grants and good-paying jobs
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced theJumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students(JOBS)Act,bipartisan legislation to help more Americans get good-paying jobs by allowing students to use federal Pell Grants—need-based education grants for lower-income individuals—to pay for shorter-term job training programs for the first time. Currently, students can only use Pell Grants for two- and four-year colleges and universities. By expanding Pell Grant eligibility, theJOBS Actwould help close the skills gap by allowing people to access job training they might otherwise be unable to afford but need for careers in high-demand fields. Senator Angus King is a cosponsor of the legislation.
“Job training programs are proven, successful tools that help people gain the skills they need to prepare for rewarding careers,”said Senator Collins.  “By helping students in Maine and across the country access this career pathway, this bipartisan legislation would assist young people with obtaining good-paying jobs and make it easier for businesses to find qualified workers.”
“When we give Maine people the tools and resources to access critical career education training, we’re setting them up for a lifetime of success,”said Senator King. “The bipartisanJumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Actwill expand Pell Grant eligibility and, in turn, make a real difference for folks across our state by breaking down financial barriers and opening the door to good-paying jobs. Supporting and strengthening our workforce will also help ensure our businesses thrive with the help of highly-trained, hardworking Maine people. It’s a win-win.”
“All across Maine there are lower-income people desperate to get the practical, relevant skills they need for good-paying jobs – but they can’t afford it. This legislation would remove the financial barriers that hold those people back. Just this year, one of our colleges struggled to fill a five-week welding course that cost about $1,000 – until they used one-time grant funds to make it tuition-free and about 100 people immediately signed up. The demand is there. The jobs are there. We need to fill the gap with affordable training. Pell Grants for short-term workforce training like that welding class would allow those students ongoing access to training that will fill critical jobs across Maine’s industries,”saidDavid Daigler, President of the Maine Community College System.
Thanks to historic investments like theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA), the U.S. economy added 14.8 million jobs between January 2021 and January 2025. Senator Collins was part of the core group of 10 Senators who negotiated the text of the IIJA. Still, there remains askilled labor shortagethat is expected to intensify in the coming years, in part because unemployed Americans lack access to the job training needed to fill vacant jobs.
TheJOBS Actwould allow Pell Grants to be used for high-quality job training programs that are at least eight weeks in length and lead to industry-recognized credentials or certificates. Under current law, Pell Grants can only be applied toward programs that are over 600 clock hours or at least 15 weeks in length, rendering students in shorter-term high-quality job training programs ineligible for this crucial assistance.
Specifically, theJOBS Actwould amend theHigher Education Actby:
The legislation is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dan Sullivan (D-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
TheJOBS Actis supported by Advance CTE, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Association for Career and Technical Education, the Association of Community College Trustees, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Business Roundtable, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance, Higher Learning Advocates, HP Inc., the Information Technology Industry Council, Jobs for the Future, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the National Association of Workforce Boards, the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, the National Skills Coalition, the Progressive Policy Institute, and Rebuilding America’s Middle Class.
Full text of the bill is availablehere, and a summary of the bill is availablehere.
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