Job Training to Get Boost Under Fresh Bid to Expand College Aid

A bipartisan group of lawmakers re-introduced legislation Thursday that would expand to short-term job training the primary federal assistance for low-income college students.

Eligibility for Pell Grants is limited to college programs at least 15 weeks or longer. The JOBS Act would allow programs as short as eight weeks to receive Pell funding.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) also introduced the legislation in 2017 and 2019, and the bill has gathered bipartisan momentum. The measure reflects a growing interest among lawmakers in supporting quicker job training for workers as an alternative to traditional college degrees.

“Especially amid ...