Legislation Encourages Job Training In Technical, Vocational Fields 

State lawmakers are making it easier for workers to get credentials in new skills faster.  

Gov. Patrick Morrisey was at New River Community and Technical College in Raleigh County Wednesday where he ceremonially signed two bills aimed at simplifying training and credentialing for workers.  

Senate Bill 402 creates the West Virginia Micro-Credential Program under the Higher Education Policy Commission to identify and develop short-term training programs in the vocational, technical and medical fields. Senate Bill 490 aligns state law with federal guidance that approves those programs for eligibility for federal Workforce Pell grants.  

Traditionally Pell Grants have been restricted to degree-seeking and longer certification programs. But the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill routes federal aid toward weeks-long credential programs for in-demand fields like skilled trades, healthcare and transportation. 

“We’re investing in people who are going to (vocational-technical schools), who are going to be the new plumbers of tomorrow, the electricians, the contractors,” Morrisey said. “But also we’re advancing in the healthcare space as well, the nurses, the pharmacists, the people that are doing technology. All these different areas are going to help West Virginia grow in a way that we’ve never seen before.” 

The governor said the changes are part of his focus on workforce development as economic development.  

“When you’re building fundamentals, you’re thinking about the roads, you’re thinking about the bridges, you’re thinking about a lot of different areas; we can never forget our people,” Morrisey said.  “And the reason all this works is when you invest in your people. And that’s why we’re here today.”  

Morrisey and other state leaders want to ensure West Virginia’s workforce is ready to take on jobs with the businesses they are working to attract to the state.