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Quick hits.
Labor Secretary loses the adjective “Acting.” The Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling last week on a party-line vote.
Still not a lot of news on workforce funding obligated a week ago. I’m starting to see grant records for awards announced a couple weeks back, so we’ll hopefully have some clarity soon.
Congress cleared a bill that tasks agencies with justifying when they require contractors to hire workers with degrees. This allows those jobs to be filled based on actual skills and does away with requirements that some companies blamed for stunting their apprenticeship programs. The bill hasn’t been signed as of this writing.
The microwave isn’t working right.
Trump II has framed Workforce Pell as a sort of microwaveable path to a good-paying job: a worker goes into a program for a few weeks and comes out as a skilled worker who’s going to earn a good salary.
In a May press release, then-Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling framed it as “good-paying jobs, fast.” In the same press release, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Workforce Pell allows workers to “graduate with little to no debt and be well-prepared to start earning in one of today’s in-demand jobs in weeks, not years.” In September, Ed described “remunerative” careers that McMahon framed as “fast, affordable, and aligned with real workforce needs.”
This messaging matches something made clear in the final rules the Administration set for Workforce Pell. Congress shaped Workforce Pell so individual programs could be stacked like a deck of cards toward credentials such as a degree. The Administration trended toward the microwave route in implementing the law, saying that the expectation for someone who gets Workforce Pell funding should be a job shortly after completing a program.
In reality, the microwave sure looks like it has some problems. This week, I did some digging and number crunching on more than 20 programs approved for Workforce Pell.
What I found:
It appears that only two of the 20 verified programs lead immediately to living-wage jobs—here meaning jobs that allow a single worker with no children to cover basic expenses without additional help. Put another way: only 10 percent of the programs approved for Workforce Pell look like they immediately lead to jobs that let a worker afford the cost of living—let alone earn the “remunerative” wages talked up by the Administration.
For half of the roles, the median wage is below the living wage in the state where the program is located. That means at least half the workers in that field don’t earn enough to cover the cost of living.
For some of the programs approved, there appear to be hidden costs that Workforce Pell likely couldn’t cover. I’ve also heard doubts about how “debt-free” Workforce Pell programs really will turn out to be.
I’ll caution that this analysis is preliminary and incomplete out of necessity: there are programs that Ed hasn’t fully identified in its announcements, and there appear to be programs that other sources indicate have Ed approval, but I couldn’t confirm that approval.
But even if it’s early and incomplete, it’s important to pay attention to what’s coming because there is still room for adjustment, particularly at the state level where Ed left a lot of discretion. As always, I think Workforce Pell could be a useful tool. But it’s certainly been oversold—I’ve heard political leaders claim it could eliminate unemployment—and these early approvals give reason to be pessimistic about what Workforce Pell really will support.
Given the political weight behind the program, the outcome could have significant consequences for American workforce investment.
Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:
After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.
“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.
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