black rockcarhartt, ford motor corporation and google announced an initiative to expand access to skilled worker training in response to the worsening labor shortage.
The companies’ Alliance for Skilled Workers of America will work with labor unions and industry groups to invest in apprenticeship programs and raise awareness to promote pathways into the profession, according to a joint release issued Tuesday.
“Investments in America’s infrastructure will help shape this country’s long-term economic trajectory, but their success ultimately depends on the skilled workforce that makes these projects a reality,” Bayo Ogunlesi, chairman and chief executive officer of BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, said in a statement. “Expanding the talent pipeline requires long-term commitment and partnerships across sectors.”
There is growing evidence that there are opportunities in skilled trades.
A shortage of skilled tradespeople, largely due to an aging population of experienced workers, is driving up job openings and wages for electricians. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning technicians. Plumber. And the builders.
At the same time, concerns that companies will need fewer white-collar workers as AI capabilities improve are creating a “negative feedback loop with no natural brakes,” according to a February report from investment research firm Citorini Research.
Other research shows that these changes in the job market are leading more students to choose short-term, career-oriented paths.
Matthew Asa, a 54-year-old apprentice, works steel at Iron Workers Local 29 during his apprenticeship in Dayton, Ohio, on October 24, 2022.
Megan Gerringer AFP | Getty Images
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, enrollment in both baccalaureate certificate and associate degree programs increased by about 2% in fall 2025, while enrollment in baccalaureate degree programs increased by less than 1%.
A recent Lumina Foundation/Gallup poll also found that while Americans’ confidence in bachelor’s degrees is declining, two-year associate’s degrees are gaining momentum.
“Four-year degrees remain the gold standard,” said Courtney Brown, chief data and research officer at the Lumina Foundation, which focuses on advancing higher education opportunities. But “community colleges are doing really well in terms of affordability and value,” she said, adding that “more people are being drawn to community colleges.”
“A critical turning point”
“We are at a critical inflection point, with demand for skilled trades accelerating while the available workforce continues to decline,” Paul Morgan, JLL’s global chief operating officer of property management services, said in a research note published in April. JLL is a global commercial real estate and investment management company.
Morgan said the skilled labor shortage “threatens the way we power our data centers, cool our labs, secure our manufacturing facilities, and maintain the spaces where millions of Americans work every day.”
Despite growing public opposition, building new data centers is key to supporting the artificial intelligence boom and spurring large-scale infrastructure development.
“Building the physical infrastructure for America’s future requires significantly increasing the pipeline of skilled workers across the country, a challenge that can only be met through collective action,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said in a statement. Google is also one of the largest builders and operators of data centers.
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