Job Corps ordered to ‘pause’ as Congress ponders program’s end

LANDER — Wind River Job Corps in Riverton, the newest of the nation’s 126 campuses, would be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this fall. But funding for the entire U.S. Job Corps program is on the chopping block as part of a federal bill narrowly passed by the House and under consideration  by the Senate, and on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor handed down an edict: Close up shop by June 30 as part of a “pause” on the program.

For Wind River Job Corps, the closure of the $41 million campus would mean the loss of nearly 150 jobs, and 208 students in the wind. It would be a more than 2.7% hit to the overall total workforce for Riverton and have lasting ramifications for the region.

Before the “Big Beautiful Bill” was approved by the House by a margin of 215- 214, Riverton Mayor Tim Hancock asked all 10,000 city residents to reach out to U.S. Rep.Harriet Hageman with a singular message: Wind River Job Corps should be spared.

“What is being proposed in the president’s budget right now is the complete destruction, for lack of a better term for it, of the Job Corps program,” he said of the bill, coined the Big Beautiful Bill. “It would just completely leave us out of many jobs here in Riverton, Wyo. ... Our Job Corps students have become an incredible part of the community, our instructors are an incredible part of the community, and I bring this up because  it hasn’t [been passed by Congress] yet.” 

Pointing to President Donald Trump’s description of the six-decades long program as a “failed experiment,” Hancock listed stats for Riverton’s Job Corps: 85.6% of students leave the facility with a job in hand. 

He said his own law school didn’t match that figure in terms of lawyers who graduated and found jobs working as attorneys. 

The average starting wage for Wind River Job Corps students, he said, is nearly $19 an hour. 

Hageman voted for the bill in the House, which is currently being debated in the Senate. 

But Thursday’s demand from the Department of Labor adds an extra twist: All Job Corps locations under the kind of federal contracts at Riverton’s $41 million campus must shut down, or “pause,” their operations by June 30, leaving local officials scrambling and the likelihood of the Senate saving the program with amendments in question. 

Department of Labor’s command 

The Department of Labor last week ordered Job Corps facilities to shutter their operations by June 30, stating that it would assist in an “orderly transition for students, staff, and communities.” 

According to a news release issued by the agency, the decision came after an internal review of the program and aligns with the president’s budget proposal. 

“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” said Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the release. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.” 

The Department of Labor’s release pointed to a more than 8%, or $140 million deficit identified in the PY 2024 budget, and outlined some average statistics for the program, including an average cost per student of more than $80,000. 

For the Riverton campus, that cost was listed at $53,199. 

Newest campus 

Riverton’s $41 million campus is the nation’s newest, which celebrated its opening in fall 2015 after years of efforts by local, state and federal leaders.

“This first of its kind in Wyoming, the Wind River Job Corps Center is a fantastic program to ensure that the citizens of Wyoming have the skills and training they need to be leaders in tomorrow’s workforce,” the late Sen. Mike Enzi said during the opening ceremony. “A project like this is not any one person’s doing, but a team effort from a lot of folks who did the groundwork so this project could move forward. The work done by the city, county, tribal and state governments, and federal agencies to bring this Job Corps Center to the Wind River area will help support Wyoming’s communities and economy for decades to come.” 

Over the years, Wind River Job Corps has partnered with local entities on projects, from assisting the city of Lander to recently building and assembling a wheelchair ramp for Madison Belle, a Shoshoni child diagnosed with brain cancer who tragically passed away in May. 

And the programs housed at Job Corps in Riverton have been lauded by U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Hageman, who frequently attended in-person or remotely to Job Corp graduation ceremonies to deliver speeches as students flipped their tassels.

 “You are performing a vital service to our country,” Hageman said in a recorded video speech during Job Corps’ most recent graduation celebration in January.  Barrasso attended a 2023 graduation ceremony at the center, praising the accomplishments of the new graduates and how they’d contribute to the nation’s workforce. 

“I am here with great appreciation and admiration and respect for what each of you have accomplished,” he told the students. 

By the numbers 

Some of the numbers in the federal Job Corps Transparency Report released last week didn’t seem to match up with the figures shared by Hancock during the May 20 Riverton City Council meeting. 

Then, he shared the latest figures from March of this year: The average salary for Wind River graduates, he said, was almost $19 an hour, or nearly $40,000 annually. But the federal report listed that average annual salary at just $19,866. 

The local Job Corps center currently houses 208 students and employs nearly 150 workers. 

While the state and feds typically track employment by county and not by town or city, Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Research Supervisor Mike Moore crunched the numbers: In 2023, Riverton had about 5,500 people age 16 and over in the total civilian labor force. 

A hit of 150 workers is around 2.77% of the city’s overall employment by that measure. 

It’s unclear what assistance would be provided to students at the center under the federal pause; many of the students enrolled at Wind River Job Corps come from different parts of the country, seeking an education to work their way out of poverty or other challenging circumstances. 

The Big Beautiful Bill under consideration in the Senate would take the current total Job Corps funding from $1.56 billion down to nothing, effectively dismantling the program and the country’s 126 campuses. 

The Department of Labor’s directive speeds up that process, and it’s unclear whether leaders in the Senate have interest in amending or otherwise providing funding for the program. In the meantime, Hancock urged residents to reach out to members of Congress in an appeal for the program. 

“I would encourage you, if you’re a citizen of Riverton and you care about where we’ve been able to get … to reach out,” he said.  Barrasso’s Riverton office may be reached at 307-856-6642; U. S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ staff may be reached at 307-261-6572. Hageman’s staff may be reached at 307-772-2595. 

This story was published on May 31, 2025.