The U.S. Education Department (ED) in September 2026 approved three Workforce Pell programs in Nebraska, allowing eligible students at Metropolitan Community College (MCC) to use federal Pell Grant dollars to enroll in its phlebotomy technician, pharmacy technician and CompTia Tech+ with Google IT Support programs. These programs aim to prepare students for key healthcare and information technology professions.
The roots of MCC’s Workforce Pell efforts go back several years, though, and begin with federal funding during the Covid pandemic. MCC tapped $9 million through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to create Career Forward, a large-scale workforce training initiative designed to accelerate access to short-term, high-demand credentials. It became a prototype for the eventuality of Workforce Pell.
The initiative created pathways into credit-bearing programs and degrees and provided student supports, including paying students $16 an hour for instruction seat-time and providing dedicated career coaches to follow learners through the process to completion and job attainment.
Over the course of the federal funding, MCC has served more than 1,800 learners, with completion and job placement rates above 70%. Plus, the college saw the average self-reported wage of participants increase from $17.39 an hour to $23.36 after completion.