MOORESVILLE, N.C. The Lowe’s Foundation on Sept. 1 announced the launch of the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition, a national initiative aimed at helping train and develop 1 million people for skilled trades careers by 2035.
The coalition includes more than 75 educators, businesses, workforce organizations and industry partners, including NVIDIA, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, DEWALT and Duke Energy.
The initiative comes as employers across the country face a growing shortage of skilled trades workers. The U.S.
Department of Education estimates as many as 2.1 million skilled trades jobs could go unfilled by 2030.
“The next industrial revolution won’t be built by algorithms alone,” Lowe’s Chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison said. “It will be built by the millions of skilled trade professionals who power, connect and move this country forward.”
Coalition members will focus on expanding access to training, improving connections between training programs and employers, and changing perceptions about careers in the skilled trades. The group also plans to develop shared measures for tracking training, employment and career outcomes.
The coalition builds on the Lowe’s Foundation’s Gable Grants program launched in 2023. The program now works with 73 community colleges and nonprofits in 30 states.
The foundation recently announced plans to invest $250 million to help train and develop 250,000 skilled trades workers by 2035.
Other founding members include the National Association of Home Builders, National Center for Construction Education and Research, SkillsUSA and Carhartt.
Additional coalition members and progress updates are expected to be announced as the initiative expands.