Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 15, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 13 W W O R K F O R C E D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S Graduation rate Center Founded Students* Carreer training offered Other services in 2023 Grafton Job Corps 1981 237 Advanced manufacturing, GED program, online high Center carpentry, certified nurse school diploma program 42.7% assistant, clinical medical assistant, culinary arts, electrical, plumbing, security & protective services Shriver Job Corps 1998 300 Advanced computer systems Multiple high school diploma Center, Devens administrator, carpentry computer and equivalency options, technician, certified nurse college credit partnership assistant, culinary arts, office with Mount Wachusett administration, auto maintenance Community College 89.6% & light repair, security & protective services, advanced transportation service worker * = prior to shutdown attempt Sources: Department of Labor, Adams and Associates Central Mass Job Corp Centers Job Corps centers in Devens and Grafton have produced thousands of graduates since being founded. The U.S. Department of Labor data used to justify President Donald Trump's attempt to shutter the program shows both centers have a graduation rate higher than the national average of 32% in 2023. difficulties that no young person should ever have to go through." Colleen Lanza, center director at the Shriver Job Corps Center, declined to comment, saying Job Corps employees require Department of Labor approval in order to sit for interviews with the media. Graon Job Corps Center Direc- tor Nicole Trombly didn't respond to a request to comment. Surviving the shutdown attempt Trump's shutdown efforts were tem- porarily halted by a federal judge in June, aer the National Job Corps Association, a group representing employees and oth- er Job Corps stakeholders, filed a lawsuit in New York against the Department of Labor. A second federal lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C. by Job Corps stu- dents impacted by the shutdown attempt, also leading to an injunction. DOL has appealed the injunction in both cases. Both appeal cases remain ongoing, according to the Civil Rights Litigation Clearing House, although a settlement appears to be in the works for the New York case, with a hearing scheduled for January. "We hope the courts will recognize that all of this is an illegal power grab, and I'm hoping that they're going to reaf- firm that the president cannot unilateral- ly end programs authorized and funded by Congress," McGovern said. Despite the relatively quick move to block Trump's shutdown, much damage had already been done. Before the court ruling, Graon Job Corps officials were scrambling to find housing for more than 30 students who would otherwise be homeless if the center closed. Some students le the centers and have yet to return. McGovern said the Graon center's capacity went from 100% in March to 40% in the summer. It has since returned to around 70%, he said. e impact of the shutdown was dev- astating for students, particularly those from tough upbringings who had been trying to do all the right things, Hebert said. "A lot of these students come from very disadvantaged backgrounds, and they have not always been told the truth about the way things are going to work out for them," she said. "ey just saw this as another incident of people failing them." Despite the setback, the centers have persisted. A major breakthrough came when the federal government restarted background checks needed to enroll students at centers, said Hebert. e government had actually stopped processing background checks in March, before the shutdown was announced, among other reductions it said were cost-saving measures. Bipartisan support anks to bipartisan congressional support, Job Corps has previously sur- vived attempts to shutter it by presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, according to a 2014 article in the Wash- ington Post. Even though it's rarer than it was during the Nixon or Reagan eras, bipar- tisan congressional support may once again save the program. Trump's move to shutter Job Corps has received criticism from voices ranging from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), with 200 House lawmakers and 40 Senators for both sides of the political aisle signing a letter in support of the program. e program remains funded, as the House and Senate work to come to terms on a 2026 budget. e House budget bill proposed halving its funding to $880 million, while the Senate ver- sion called for funding to remain flat, at about $1.7 billion. McGovern was quick to point out DOL Secretary Chavez-DeRemer herself was a supporter of Job Corps funding when she was a member of the House of Representatives. "I guess the only job she cares about defending right now is her own," McGovern said. "e misinformation coming out of her office, and the misin- formation coming out of Trump, it's just frustrating, because it is not reflective of the facts or the effectiveness of this program." McGovern and other critics of the shutdown have said the 2023 data used by DOL to support the shutdown, which showed a 32% traditional graduation rate and an average cost of $80,285 per student per year, were heavily impacted by disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. e Graon Job Corps Center had a traditional graduation rate of 42.7% in 2023, while the Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens had a rate of 89.6%, according to data from the Department of Labor report. Chavez-DeRemer referred to the DOL's data showing the failures of Job Corps as overwhelming during the June hearing, but the data the department made public to justify the decision only covered 2023. Chavez-DeRemer's office did not respond to a request for an interview for this article. During a congressional hearing, she said safety issues and high costs justified the closures. She said she was unaware of the extent of Job Corps shortcomings before joining DOL. Hebert said officials from the Small Business Administration met with her earlier this year, and she brought them to the Graon center to see its impact and to meet with students. She said the Trump Administration should be using Sweden as a model, a country which a 2018 U.S. News & World Report article said has had more success than many in using government resources to adjust its labor market for modern times and lower unemployment. "If they wanted to start pouring money and support into vocational schooling, they should make Job Corps their national vocational school, because it would be a great ROI for them," she said. "I was told they would go back and talk to the administration, but I have not heard any feedback since then." McGovern has been a staunch defender of Job Corps, saying it's an effective program and Trump Administration stats about grad- uation rates and violent incidents don't paint the entire picture.

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