A trade can start before the cap and gown. The trick is seeing the path early. A new set of free tools is live, built for students figuring out what comes next — and the parents and counselors helping them decide.
See what funding fits
Trade programs cost less than a four-year degree, and more aid covers them than most families expect. Workforce Pell, new in 2026, opens federal grant money to short-term job training for the first time. The new Funding Eligibility Check asks a few plain questions and shows what a student likely qualifies for, then points to the next step. Two minutes. No account. No cost.
Find local help
Every state runs American Job Centers that fund training and connect young people to employers and apprenticeships. Finding yours used to mean digging through a state website. The new State Job Centers directory lists the official portal and a direct phone number for all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Find yours
Practice the parts that scare people
A resume builder turns a first job and a few projects into something an employer reads. A cover letter builder writes for apprenticeships, not desk jobs. A mock interview runs real questions and gives honest feedback. The calculators compare starting wages and weigh trade school against a four-year degree, in plain dollars. And the scholarships page keeps the money search in one place. All free.
For schools and counselors
Workforce Pell comes with a rule: programs have to show their graduates get hired and earn real wages. The new Outcomes Tracker records completions, credentials, placements, and pay, then turns them into the disclosures the rules now require — useful for any program proving its worth to students and funders.
For schools
The work is good. The pay is real. The path should be clear. These tools make it clearer. They are live now.