In our August blog post, we declared that workforce development was the ultimate focus of federal funding in 2025. This year, we see the implementation of legislative efforts which affirm this focus. In July 2025, Congress passed H.R.1, which requires that Workforce Pell be implemented by July 1st of this year, creating some uncertainty for students, government employees, and educational institutions as regulatory and operational details continue to emerge.

Key considerations for evaluating Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs include capturing the full range of program impacts and accounting for attrition in the evaluation design.

Across federal agencies this year, Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and Federal Register notices explicitly tie dollars to apprenticeships, work-based learning, and training pipelines through dedicated set-asides or invitational priorities. The signal is clear: the Administration plans to use grants to implement its workforce development strategy to Make America Skilled Again.