# Plain Language Summary: Connecting Students to Great Jobs Act

This bill creates a new federal grant program designed to help workers quickly gain job skills through short-term training programs. The Department of Labor and Department of Education will award competitive grants to community colleges, vocational schools, and four-year universities that partner with local employers. These grants will fund training programs that lead to recognized credentials—like certificates or associate degrees—in fields where jobs are actually available, such as healthcare, construction, information technology, and skilled trades. The program is specifically designed to help people get back to work faster by offering focused training rather than requiring them to spend years in traditional degree programs.

To qualify for these grants, educational institutions must team up with employers or industry groups who have a stake in the training. The bill gives priority to programs that include employers willing to help pay for training or commit to hiring graduates, programs serving veterans and military families, programs in areas with high unemployment, and programs at colleges that serve minority and low-income students. Grants can last up to six years, with the possibility of renewal after the first three years if the program meets performance goals. The money can be used to develop new training programs, create pathways that let students move smoothly from basic skills training into more advanced coursework, set up paid internships, or establish apprenticeships.

Additionally, the bill temporarily expands federal Pell Grants (which help low-income students pay for college) to cover short-term training programs from 2021 through 2023. This means students in eligible short-term programs can receive grant money to help pay for tuition, making these quick-training options more affordable for people who can't afford to take time off work for lengthy education programs.

Connecting Students to Great Jobs Act

Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-10]

Connecting Students to Great Jobs Act This bill directs the Department of Labor and the Department of Education (ED) to award career pathway grants and provide assistance for career pathway programs. Labor must award competitive grants to eligible institutions of higher education and vocational institutions to develop, offer, improve, and provide educational or career pathway programs for workers. Grant funds must be used for specified purposes, including for career pathway programs that provide relevant job training to meet the needs of employers in high-skill, high-wage, or in demand sectors or occupations and that may include registered apprenticeship programs. The bill requires ED to carry out a program to award START federal Pell Grants to students in short-term programs that prepare participants for employment opportunities in high-skill, high-wage, or in demand sectors or occupations in a geographic area in which the programs are offered. The bill also directs ED to (1) award grants to states to establish statewide career pathways coalitions, (2) establish a career pathways innovation grant program to support career pathways in high school and career exploration in the middle grades, and (3) provide technical assistance.