Up until the last few months, the job training program Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) had been in “expansion mode.” Over the last several years, they’ve grown from their base in San Francisco to sites across California, training workers in healthcare, skilled trades, and tech. 

But with threats to federal funding for workforce training programs and a crackdown on DEI initiatives, JVS is pausing its growth. Leaders hope to maintain a flat budget and keep running the programs they’ve already started. 

JVS CEO Lisa Countryman-Quiroz says the changes at the federal level have brought “an unprecedented amount of uncertainty” to the organization’s funding. About 35% of JVS’ budget comes from public funding—some directly from the federal government and some from subgrants or federal dollars flowing through the state and counties.

“There’s quite a series of knock-on effects,” Countryman-Quiroz says. “It’s not simply a matter of specific grants or contracts that are under threat, although there is that as well. It’s brought a lot of fear and uncertainty to the whole nonprofit and workforce sector.”

Leaders of several workforce training programs spoke with Work Shift about how federal funding cuts are impacting the work they’re doing and the contingency plans they’re drafting in response. Some, like Merit America and Year Up United, do not receive federal funding and are relatively unaffected. 

Susan Murray, chief revenue officer of Year Up United, said in a statement that the organization generates revenue from two primary sources: employers and philanthropic organizations. “As we have been able to generate earned revenue from employers and significant philanthropy at a lower cost and with more consistency than public funding, we have not pursued it at scale,” Murray says.

Others, like JVS, are scrambling to secure other funding sources to maintain the services they provide, which often benefit disadvantaged communities. JVS is aiming to increase its philanthropic funding by about 20%.

‘No Answers, a Lot of Questions’

One of the biggest obstacles for job training programs that rely on federal funding is the sheer breadth of the proposed cuts, some of which contradict the priorities of the previous Trump administration. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, for example, has targeted grants for apprenticeships.

Grants that have already begun are also in question. In 2022, the San Antonio-based workforce training program Project QUEST received a $1M Department of Labor grant through a congressional allocation to expand their services outside of the city of San Antonio. When the Trump administration announced the federal funding freeze in January, Project QUEST paused their program and didn’t restart it again until March when they heard directly from the Department of Labor telling them the original directive had been canceled. 

“Reliance on public funding is always tenuous,” says Francisco Martinez, president and CEO of Project QUEST. “However, it’s tenuous because it’s not guaranteed, it’s very competitive. Never did we imagine that once we secured it, being able to follow through on commitments would be an issue.”

Martinez is still uncertain about the program’s future as the application for the grant heavily relied on the organization’s work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. “There’s no answers and a lot of questions,” he says.

Ripple Effects: Aside from questions about their own funding, Martinez says that possible funding cuts to the organization’s partners, like community colleges and other nonprofits, could have an even bigger impact on the people that Project QUEST serves. Weakening any one of these institutions and organizations impacts the entire workforce ecosystem, he says.

Phil Weinberg, president and CEO of STRIVE, echoed the same thought. STRIVE works with people across the country, in red and blue states alike, helping them get training and opportunities in fields like healthcare, construction, and the trades. Many of these people are formerly incarcerated and they receive SNAP benefits and other public assistance as they work to build careers. 

“We have real concerns about our students and their wellbeing and the social safety net that will be available to help them as they’re going through training and as they’re entering careers that have the potential to then earn them wages that can wean them off those public benefits,” Weinberg says. 

“There’s a wide range of implications that, I think, are unknown at this point, but we’re certainly anticipating the stress that our communities are going to be under.”

Staying the Course

Despite the uncertainty, JVS, Project QUEST, and STRIVE are largely staying the course for now. STRIVE is actually doubling down on its growth goals and aiming to increase the number of people it serves every year from 2K to 10K over the next several years. 

Less than 20% of STRIVE’s funding comes from government sources, including the federal government, with the rest coming from philanthropy, corporations, and individuals. While Weinberg says the funding environment is uncertain, the organization just received a $5M grant from the Department of Labor to serve students in New York City, Birmingham, and New Orleans. 

Countryman-Quiroz hopes that with time, stability will return to federal funding as leaders realize the impact that job training programs like JVS have on communities. The organization spends between $20K and $25K per participant on the program, which is free to learners. Five years after completion, however, these participants are earning $106K per year on average.

“Between the way our education system allows access to degrees and the attitude of employers towards their role in training and preparing workers for jobs, there’s a gap in those systems that workforce development fills,” Countryman-Quiroz says. “It’s a lesser known component in our overall economy and training system. 

“But when it’s done well, it provides tremendous glue that is supportive of employers, job seekers, and their families.”