Americans Want More Work-Related Learning. Why Aren’t We Giving it to Them?
By Taylor Maag
Americans’ views on the economy differ dramatically depending on which side of the diploma divide they fall on. A new comprehensive survey of working-class voters from my organization, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), finds that working Americans believe they are worse off than they were 40 years ago.
The poll, done in partnership with YouGov, surveyed a representative national sample of voters without a four-year college degree and oversampled in seven key battleground states. The responses revealed that these workers feel like life has gotten harder for them, yet they believe national political leaders, and Democrats in particular, are more concerned about college graduates. It is one of the main reasons why these voters, who once formed the backbone of the Democratic Party, have become estranged from it.
For example, those surveyed overwhelmingly see the Biden administration’s push for student loan forgiveness as unfair to the majority of U.S. workers, who, like them, do not hold a four-year degree or the associated debt. Instead, these voters care much more about career-oriented opportunities. When asked about what is most likely to help working people get ahead, 74% stated the need for increased public investment in apprenticeships and career pathways to help non-college workers acquire better skills. Additionally, when asked what they believe would help most when it comes to having a good job and career, roughly 50% said affordable, short-term training programs that combine work and learning. Only 9% said they viewed college as the best way for them to get ahead.
And this changing mindset around college is not unique to those polled. A decade ago, Americans felt positively about higher education — over 95% of parents, across political parties, said they expected their kids to go to college. But today, as the poll represents, these feelings have shifted, mainly due to concerns around affordability, access and the payoff of a college degree. As a result, fewer young adults believe college is important, only about one-third of the American public has confidence in higher education — and, in contrast to the college-oriented parents of 10 years ago, almost half now say they’d prefer their children pursue something other than a bachelor’s degree after high school.
Yet, public policy has not kept up with these changing demands. While dramatically expanding financial support for college students, Washington has chronically underinvested in workforce development and the ability for non-degree workers and learners to acquire in-demand skills. Left in the lurch are individuals who need and want workforce training, as well as U.S. employers trying to fill skills gaps. If Democrats want a chance of winning elections in 2024, they must stop supporting a status quo tilted heavily toward college students and consider bold reforms that more equitably invest in workforce education and training.
Reforming the venerable Pell Grant program would be a good place to start. The program is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting postsecondary students from low-income families. In 2021, the total federal spending on the program was $26 billion, and the grant served 34% of undergraduate students. But based on current requirements, Pell Grants can’t be used for all postsecondary programs — excluding many shorter-term, workforce-oriented programs.
PPI has called for a “Super Pell,” financed by folding the myriad of existing tax incentives and higher education spending programs into one large federal grant program for all post-secondary learning. It would not require any additional federal spending, and it would include high-quality workforce programs. This would allow current and future workers to use their federal aid for short-term credential programs, apprenticeships and other educational opportunities best poised to meet the needs of the labor market.
In addition to Pell reform, our country needs to truly ramp up apprenticeships. This “earn and learn” model not only benefits workers but provides strong returns for employers — for roughly every dollar spent on apprenticeship, employers get an average of $1.47 back in increased productivity. However, even with these outcomes, total spending for apprenticeship is under $400 million versus the $400 billion each year that is spent on college. As a result, our country barely has 600,000 registered apprentices. As a share of their labor force, Great Britain, Australia and Germany have roughly 10 times more apprentices.
To keep pace with these partner nations, PPI offers a fresh take on Apprenticeships for America’s pay-per-apprenticeship proposal. This proposal would create 1 million apprenticeships a year through: increased federal investment, funding tied to performance, a shift from lottery-style grants to formula funding and recruiting a wide array of intermediaries — from nonprofits like CareerWise, to for-profit apprenticeship service providers like Multiverse to sell employers on apprenticeship and help them organize programs.
For far too long, our national leaders, including those at the forefront of the Democratic Party, have proposed and supported policies that focus on college-educated elites, leaving behind non-degree workers. It’s clear from the changing views of voters, parents and students themselves that it is time to create high-quality alternatives to a four-year degree. Super Pell and a stronger infrastructure for apprenticeship can help the U.S. build a legitimate parallel track to college, enabling millions of Americans to pursue quicker and more affordable ways to acquire higher skills and higher-wage jobs. These types of innovative reforms are what’s needed to meet the needs of individuals, businesses and our economy, while also developing a stronger policy agenda for Democrats to win back the working class.
Taylor Maag is the director of Workforce Development Policy at the Progressive Policy Institute.
This story originally ran in The Messenger on December 5, 2023.
