As the U.S. faces a historic skilled trades labor shortage, the Lowe’s Foundation has announced the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition to help train and develop 1 million people for skilled trades careers by 2035.
The national alliance is backed by over 75 American educators, businesses, workforce organizations, industry vendors, and stakeholders across the skilled trades ecosystem, including corporate leaders NVIDIA, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, DEWALT, and Duke Energy. Other partners include the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), SkillsUSA, and Carhartt.
An estimated 2.1 million skilled trades jobs could go unfilled by 2030 as a significant number of workers retire and infrastructure investments grow, according to the Department of Education, creating potential economic losses of up to $1 trillion annually.
The Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition draws on the track record of the Lowe’s Foundation to scale tangible solutions. Its Gable Grants program, which launched in 2023, outpaced initial performance metrics and is now an ecosystem of 73 community colleges and nonprofits scaling innovative skilled trades training programs across 30 states. Outcomes of the program led the foundation to recently expand its mission to train and develop 250,000 tradespeople by 2035 through a $250 million investment.
“The next industrial revolution won’t be built by algorithms alone. It will be built by the millions of skilled trade professionals who power, connect, and move this country forward,” said Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s chairman and CEO.
He added, “Today through this coalition, we are answering the call from hundreds of existing partners to lead an even larger unified national effort that will redefine what’s possible when leaders from different sectors rally behind a common purpose.”
Recognizing that workforce challenges extend across industries, the coalition will strengthen every stage of the talent pipeline, from recruitment to career advancement. Members will work together to shape the future of the skilled trades workforce and collectively amplify their impact with three primary goals:
- Change the perception of careers in the skilled trades by challenging outdated narratives that position college as the default path to success. Through storytelling and greater awareness of the respected, purpose-driven, and rewarding careers the trades offer, the coalition will elevate the craftsmanship and pride that define professions and help more people see the skilled trades as an equal path to a successful future.
- Invest, connect, and scale proven training and credentialing solutions by bringing together educators, businesses, workforce organizations, corporate leaders, industry vendors, and other stakeholders to address shared workforce challenges and expand what works. Through case studies, pilot programs, playbooks, and shared approaches informed by labor market insights and employer needs, the coalition will accelerate peer learning and help more organizations adopt and scale proven solutions for preparing qualified skilled trades talent without starting from scratch.
- Collectively measure progress from training to employment by establishing shared measures that help the coalition understand what’s working, identify gaps, and track outcomes across the workforce ecosystem. Across construction, automotive manufacturing, telecommunications, energy industry, HVAC, technology, and financial services, the coalition will use these insights to strengthen connections between training providers and employers, improve pathways to in-demand jobs, and help more people translate their training and credentials into meaningful, long-term careers.
More information about the coalition is available here.