Dive Brief:
- The Lowe’s Foundation announced Sept. 1 it would launch a U.S. cross-sector skilled trades coalition called the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition.
- The initiative is designed to train and develop 1 million skilled tradespeople by 2035, and it’s backed by more than 75 educators, companies and organizations, including Nvidia, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, DeWalt and Duke Energy.
- To achieve this larger goal, the coalition outlined three main objectives: change the perception of the skilled trade industry, invest in training and credentialing solutions, and measure progress by establishing shared benchmarks.
Dive Insight:
The move comes amid a significant skilled trades labor shortage in the U.S. The announcement cited a U.S. Department of Education figure estimating that 2.1 million skilled trades jobs “could go unfilled by 2030,” potentially resulting in “economic losses of up to $1 trillion annually.”
This new initiative, which Lowe’s Foundation called the largest of its kind, seeks to amplify existing solutions to fill this workforce gap. The Lowe’s Foundation’s Gable Grants program, launched in 2023, is now scaling skilled trades training programs across 73 community colleges and nonprofits in 30 states, per the press release. That program’s success convinced the foundation to expand its mission in April and commit to training an additional 250,000 tradespeople by 2035 via a $250 million investment.
The newly announced initiative will build on that expansion, per the press release.
"The next industrial revolution won't be built by algorithms alone,” Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “It will be built by the millions of skilled trade professionals who power, connect and move this country forward.”
As part of its plan, the coalition wants to challenge “outdated narratives that position college as the default path to success.”
In addition, the initiative will bring its stakeholders together to address workforce challenges and amplify solutions that work by using case studies, pilot programs, playbooks and other existing market insights.
“As AI and other emerging technologies become more deeply embedded in everyday life, the resilient broadband networks that underpin them will be more important than ever — and those networks can’t be built or maintained without skilled workers,” AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey said in a statement.
The coalition also intends to track the outcome of its work across multiple industries, including construction, automotive manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, HVAC, technology and financial services, so individuals can “translate their training and credentials into meaningful, long-term careers,” the announcement said.
“America’s future depends on a strong pipeline of skilled workers, and no single company can meet that need alone,” Harry Sideris, president and CEO of Duke Energy, said in a statement. “By working together across industries, we can create more pathways into rewarding careers, strengthen our communities and build the workforce needed to support the nation’s growing infrastructure and energy needs.”
