Dive Brief:
- Google, Ford, Carhartt and BlackRock launched a partnership last week designed to expand access to training programs for skilled trades.
- The initiative, which the companies call the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades, will look to broaden access to vocational careers and build awareness of the types of jobs that will be needed to support critical industries like infrastructure, energy and manufacturing, according to a July 21 press release.
- Recent research from commercial real estate company JLL shows that a shortfall of trade workers could translate to more than 2.1 million unfilled positions for electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, pipefitters, construction equipment operators and general maintenance workers by 2030.
Dive Insight:
BlackRock found that the employment in infrastructure-related jobs — including welders, carpenters, HVAC, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters — is expected to grow 5% from 2024-34, faster than the 3% projected national average employment growth, based on outlooks for the fields from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A separate report from McKinsey & Company found that skilled labor shortages, geopolitical shifts and other factors are increasing investment needs and “changing how infrastructure is planned, financed, and executed.” The report also estimates that up to $85 trillion will be needed in investments to support infrastructure for the transportation, energy, digital, water and waste sectors over the next 15 years.
The four founding alliance members have independently committed to support workforce training initiatives across 30 states, according to the press release. Together, the group said its goals are to build a “skilled trades pipeline” and scale up workforce development approaches including apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs.
"Building the physical infrastructure for America's future requires significantly increasing the pipeline of skilled tradespeople across the country — a challenge that can only be addressed with collective action,” Google President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said in the release.
In its efforts to expand the pipeline of skilled trades workers, the alliance said it will look to provide “clear, accessible pathways” and partner with education and workforce training organizations Jobs for the Future and the Burning Glass Institute on a report to identify where gaps exist, measure progress and share best practices. The alliance said it will also look to expand to “like-minded industry, labor, education, and nonprofit organizations.”
There were 600,000 jobs posted for skilled trades in 2025, but only 150,000 people entered the labor pool through apprenticeships, according to JLL’s report. The company added that still-rising college tuitions, $1.8 trillion in student loan debt and disruption from artificial intelligence are “reshaping career decisions.”
Research from the Department of Education found that labor shortages and skills gaps are “especially acute in manufacturing, construction, and other skilled trades,” sectors where for every five workers who retire, only two replacements enter the workforce.
The DOE has estimated that the shortfall of skilled trade workers could lead to up to $1 trillion in annual economic losses.
Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said in the release that the automaker sees the skilled workforce shortage as “a national crisis but also a generational opportunity.”
“Skilled trades are at the heart of what [Ford calls] the Essential Economy, the 95 million Americans who build, move, and fix the things our country depends on every day,” Farley said. “These vital trades and industries form the backbone of the American economy, and their future is America's future.”
