The U.S. Education Department (ED) is launching a new Federal Work-Study (FWS) pilot program that will include apprenticeships, as well as expanding a pilot program that allows eligible inmates to use Pell grants for a college education.
The new FWS experiment will give institutions the flexibility to allow students to earn work-study benefits while participating in apprenticeships, internships and work-based learning programs, as well as earn work-study wages while completing required clinical rotations, externships and student teaching.
“For decades, the Federal Work-Study program has allowed students to support themselves while earning a college degree, but for too long, the majority of the work options students have had access to have been irrelevant to their chosen field of study,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a news release. “That will change with this experimental site. We want all students to have access to relevant earn-and-learn experiences that will prepare them for future employment.”