Lowe's teams with major firms to train one million skilled trades workers by 2035

Lowe's revealed a new partnership with over 75 businesses, educators and workforce groups to launch the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition. The coalition, which includes Nvidia, General Motors, AT&T and Bank of America, targets the training and certification of one million tradespeople by 2035, a response to a reported shortage of two million skilled workers that costs the economy about $1 trillion annually. Janice Dupré, executive vice president of human resources and chair of the Lowe's Foundation, said the company’s earlier effort aimed to train 250,000 workers but the problem proved larger.

She emphasized that younger adults are opting for college over trades, leaving a gap where only two new entrants replace every five retirees. The program promotes short, affordable training—some as brief as 90 days—leading to high-pay, high-demand jobs, and sees AI as a tool to enhance, not replace, hands-on work.