Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said the automaker is joining forces with three U.S. corporate giants to help solve the shortage of skilled workers in the nation, a problem that Farley has long advocated must be solved if the United States is to protect its industrial base and maintain national security.
In a blog posted on July 21, Farley wrote that the Dearborn-based automaker, along with founding partners at BlackRock, Google, and Carhartt, have established the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades. The purpose of the alliance is to help create a jobs pipeline for skilled trades, keep note of what’s working to inspire more people to consider skilled trades jobs and use the information to launch a Skilled Trades Report, and, finally, grow the movement by adding more partners to the alliance.
“Why are we joining forces?” Farley wrote. “Well, like any big, thorny problem, no one person or organization is going to solve the skilled trades shortage alone. And so when I started talking to Larry, Bayo, Ruth, and Linda about these issues, we knew that we could do more together.”
He is referring to Larry Fink, CEO of Wall Street investment firm BlackRock, Bayo Ogunlesi, chairman of Global Infrastructure Partners at BlackRock, Linda Hubbard, CEO of Carhartt, and Ruth Porat, CIO of Google.
Farley has warned that it is crucial to save skilled trades jobs in the U.S. workforce, calling it the “Essential Economy.”
Last September, Farley organized a workforce development conference at Michigan Central Station in Detroit. There, Farley brought industry leaders and policymakers together to address what he called the trades crisis.
Last month, Farley said, “By 2029, we’re going to need more than 350,000 new auto technicians across the country — including about 7,000 here in Michigan,” at an event announcing that Ford and Bloomberg Philanthropies co-donated $5 million to expand and modernize Detroit Public Schools’ auto tech training program. “But these are highly skilled jobs, and people need a way to start learning earlier, build those skills over time and do it without taking on a lot of debt.”
In January, Ford and workwear company Carhartt, announced a multiyear partnership that will impact three areas for the Essential Economy: workforce development, community building and providing tools. The deal also was to include new co-branded merchandise and a special edition 2027 Super Duty Carhartt truck that will be available later this year. The two companies also are opening a ToolBank USA in Detroit. In May, the companies said they seek more partners in the effort to attract people to skilled trades jobs.
The data supports Farley’s concerns. According to the National Association of Manufacturer’s first-quarter survey, about 45% of U.S. manufacturers list attracting and retaining workers is a “primary” challenge. Similarly, an article published in 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau said a study by the Manufacturing Institute projected there will be 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2030, resulting from a lack of skilled labor.
Since 2023, Ford and Ford dealers have collectively invested $11 million to support 2,200 students across 46 states in scholarships to study a skilled trade, Ford spokeswoman Elizabeth Kraft said for a previous Detroit Free Press article. In southeast Michigan, about 80 students have received such scholarships, she said. Also, Kraft said, Ford Philanthropy and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. have funded 13 Ford Future Builders Labs in K-12 schools across Detroit, Marshall and Battle Creek. Those are high-tech fabrication centers that allow kids to learn the skills of the future. Ford said it has equipped 8,800 K-12 students with high-tech skills.
Similarly, Carhartt has helped fund the National Center for Construction Education and Research, a nonprofit that provides construction education and technical education programs. Carhartt also has funded 15 high school programs directed at trades nationally and plans to add another 10 high school programs to its funding over the next few months.
Farley said the founding partners of the new Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades are companies that have already shown leadership on the issue, from BlackRock’s Future Builders Initiative, which puts $100 million toward the effort to train and support 50,000 American workers as they pursue careers in skilled trades, to Google’s $50 million commitment to train some 300,000 electricians, plumbers, welders and more, to Carhartt’s efforts.
“This is just the start,” Farley said. “We look forward to welcoming others on board who are equally passionate about solving this for America.”
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford, Google, Carhartt and BlackRock align to promote skilled trades
Reporting by Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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