Technology may be changing the nature of work, but it hasn't eliminated workers, or the need for more of them.

On Sept. 1, a new skilled trades coalition led by one of the nation's largest home improvement store chains announced an effort to help the nation meet its growing need for skilled trade workers.

The Lowe’s Foundation launched the coalition with a roster of big companies from a wide range of industries, including NVIDIA, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, Dewalt, Duke Energy and others. The Lowe’s Foundation is calling it “the nation's largest skilled trades coalition.” Its mission is “to tackle one of America’s most urgent workforce challenges,” which is the lack of new entrants into the skilled trades. It will fulfill that mission by sponsoring training for up to 1 million workers.

According to the foundation, the United States is experiencing “an unprecedented labor shortage.” It cites statistics from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) that project 2.1 million skilled trades jobs will go unfilled by 2030. According to the DOE, for every five skilled trade retirees, only two new employees enter the workforce.
To address this problem, the coalition will pursue three primary objectives: to change the perception of careers in the skilled trades, invest in proven training and credentialing solutions, and establish shared metrics to measure the success of its efforts.

The coalition is drawing from the collective expertise of 75 participants who represent educators, businesses, workforce organizations, industry vendors and stakeholders “across the skilled trades ecosystem.”

The effort will touch a wide range of industries, including construction, automotive manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, HVAC, technology and financial services. 

It seeks to train 1 million workers by 2035.