State reports early gains from $200 million Future Ready Oregon workforce investment

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education on Jan. 30 that the 2022 Future Ready Oregon investment has produced early positive outcomes for participants while most of the funding remains one‑time and slated to sunset in 2026.

Future Ready Oregon was created by the 2022 legislative investment and totals roughly $200 million administered across multiple programs. Jennifer Purcell, director of Future Ready Oregon at the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, said the package combined state general fund and federal ARPA dollars and aimed to expand career pathways, credit for prior learning, industry consortia and grants to community‑based providers, colleges and workforce boards.

The commission’s research office reported program results through June 2024. Amy Cox, director of the HECC Office of Research and Data, said the programs served more than 14,000 participants and that 92 percent of participants came from one or more of the priority populations identified in statute. Cox said participants received an average of about three services each and that among participants who were not employed when services began, 65 percent were employed after services. “Among those who were employed when their services began, we saw wage increases on average about $3 an hour, about $700 for the quarter,” Cox said.

HECC officials described how the investment was structured. Of the roughly $167.4 million initially described as allocated to HECC, about $52.4 million was general fund and roughly $115 million came from ARPA federal funding, according to presentations delivered to the subcommittee. Purcell said $35.2 million of the general fund was “phased out” and not included in the 2023–25 budget, while $17.2 million was carried into the current biennium to support ongoing elements such as career pathways and credit for prior learning.

HECC distributed about $90 million through competitive Workforce Ready Grants between March 2022 and December 2024, funding 133 projects in health care, manufacturing and technology, Purcell said. She said projects included mobile training, mentorships, equipment purchases, tuition remission and wraparound supports such as transportation, housing and childcare stipends to reduce barriers for participants.

Donna Luelling, director of the HECC Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, described the commission’s one‑time $10 million investment in credit for prior learning and said institutions used that funding to build faculty training, assessment tools and outreach so students can earn college credit for learning outside a traditional classroom. “We invested it wisely in infrastructure and capacity knowing that there would not be additional funds coming this biennium,” Luelling said.

Committee members asked about geographic reach and sustainability. Amy Cox said workforce ready grant awards had statewide coverage and that over half of projects serve two or more counties; 11 projects serve participants statewide. Cox cautioned that tracking employment outcomes depends on collecting participants’ Social Security numbers and recommended improving reporting to strengthen long‑term evaluation.

Members also pressed whether the investment had increased Oregon’s overall labor force. Cox said the programs are producing positive employment outcomes but that it will take more time and improved data to determine the long‑term impact on total labor force size. HECC and committee members noted that the governor’s budget proposes reauthorization of $62.5 million in ARPA funding to continue selected programs beyond the 2026 sunset.

HECC officials said industry consortia established by Future Ready Oregon will continue beyond 2026 to advise on sector priorities and to align education, employers and community partners. They also emphasized that many projects leveraged other federal and philanthropic funds and that flexible funding for wraparound supports has been central to participant success.

HECC staff said they would return with additional budget materials and that subcommittee members may request follow‑up information, including participant zip‑code maps to show the residences of program participants and further disaggregation of outcomes by sector and region.