Lowe’s Companies Inc. announced Tuesday a new partnership with more than 75 companies, including Nvidia, General Motors, AT&T, and Bank of America, to address America’s skilled labor shortage. The Lowe’s Foundation-led Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition aims to train and certify 1 million skilled tradespeople by 2035, a response to an estimated shortage of 2 million workers that costs the U.S. economy roughly $1 trillion annually.
The coalition, billed as the nation’s largest cross-sector effort of its kind, brings together businesses, educators, workforce organizations, and industry leaders to expand training pipelines for electricians, plumbers, construction workers, and other in-demand roles.
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Why the skilled trades gap persists
Janice Dupré, executive vice president of human resources at Lowe’s and chair of the Lowe’s Foundation, told FOX Business that the initiative builds on a four-year-old Lowe’s program that successfully trained 250,000 workers. That experience revealed the scale of the problem, she said.
“No one entity can solve this. The Lowe’s Foundation is uniquely positioned because of our success and experience that we’ve had over the nearly four years,” Dupré said. “I believe collectively, with all these wonderful partners coming together, we’re going to solve this for the country.”
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The labor shortage stems from a decades-long shift in which younger adults increasingly pursued four-year college degrees instead of vocational training. The result, Dupré noted, is a shrinking workforce: “For every five people that retire in the skilled trades, only two people are getting introduced into the profession.”
Skilled trades workers are essential to building homes, restoring communities after disasters, and maintaining the infrastructure that supports the broader economy, she added.
Training pathways and the AI connection
Many of the coalition’s training programs are designed to be short and affordable. Dupré said some certifications can be completed in as little as 90 days, with more advanced programs taking up to six months. These low-cost pathways lead to careers that can pay six-figure salaries for master plumbers and electricians.
“These are not low-paying jobs, these are high-demand jobs,” Dupré said.
The rise of artificial intelligence has added urgency to the effort. While AI is expected to transform many occupations, hands-on trades are less susceptible to automation. At the same time, the buildout of AI infrastructure — data centers, power systems, and cooling networks — is creating new demand for skilled workers. Tech companies like Meta and Google have already invested in trades training programs to support their AI expansion.
Dupré emphasized that AI should be viewed as a complement rather than a replacement. “We don’t think of AI as necessarily replacing, we think AI can actually enhance the skilled trades because it’ll make it easier for people to get hands-on experience, but also being able to utilize AI to give them quicker solutions,” she said.
The coalition’s partners include some of the largest U.S. employers, reflecting a growing recognition that a resilient skilled workforce is critical to economic competitiveness. As the program scales, it could serve as a model for public-private workforce development efforts.
For workers considering a career change or young people weighing their options, the message from Lowe’s and its partners is clear: skilled trades offer stable, well-paying careers that are essential to the nation’s future. With the coalition’s goal of 1 million trained workers by 2035, the initiative represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to close the gap.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The labor market and related investments are subject to volatility and uncertainty.
