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Secretary Sonderling Discusses Workforce Pell, Skills Training, and Jobs in a Florida Interview with NBC6

September 14, 2026 · USDepartmentofLabor · 0:08:30

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What happened

In an NBC6 interview in South Florida, Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said, as he stated it, that the administration has created 900,000 new private-sector jobs in President Trump’s second term, that trillions of dollars are being invested, and that manufacturing is returning. He said the Labor Department’s task, as he stated it, is to make sure American workers get the first and best opportunities at those jobs through skills training coordinated across the Labor, Commerce, and Education Departments, as he stated it.

Sonderling described, as he stated it, a skills gap: employers tell him the demand and the desire for American-made products are there, but many returning trades are no longer taught in high schools or colleges. He said the administration is having local employers specify their exact job needs to local community colleges, and that the Workforce Pell program, which he said launched July 1, lets community colleges build 8-to-15-week certificate programs — for welders, heavy vehicle operators, and machine technicians, as he gave as examples — with, as he stated it, 100 percent financial aid for students in those certificate programs, without a four-year degree or student debt.

Asked about college graduates who cannot find desired work, Sonderling said, as he stated it, that a graduate may hold only about 30 percent of the skills needed on day one of a job, which frustrates employers and can push hiring out of town or out of the country. Asked about health care staffing in South Florida as Haitian Temporary Protected Status ends, he said, as he stated it, that health care keeps growing and that home health aides, nursing, and phlebotomy roles are ideal for registered apprenticeships that start workers with zero experience and no student loans, as he stated it.

Why it matters

The interview lays out the administration’s workforce theory in one place: employers specify the skills, community colleges build 8-to-15-week certificates, and Workforce Pell pays for them — with the Secretary’s 900,000-jobs figure offered as the backdrop claim.

Scoreboard watch

Secretary Sonderling’s figures in this interview — 900,000 new private-sector jobs in the President’s second term and a July 1 launch of Workforce Pell with 100 percent aid for the short certificate programs he described, all as he stated them — are checkable against Labor Department and program records. Flagged as scoreboard candidates for the editor; no verdict is published from this page.

Sources: USDepartmentofLabor, “Secretary Keith Sonderling sits down in Florida with NBC6”, 2026-09-14 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-09-14). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.