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Ford CEOs Call for a Nationwide Coalition to Close the Skilled-Trades Gap
By Drooid · · How we work
The Skilled-Trades Shortage and New Alliance
The comment accompanied the launch of the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades, a corporate coalition formed this summer by Ford, BlackRock, Google, and Carhartt. The Alliance’s first product is a public “America’s Skilled Trades Dashboard” that aggregates scattered data on the sector.
Report Findings: Gaps and Regional Variations
The Alliance’s “State of America’s Skilled Trades” report projects a need for roughly 1.7 million skilled-trades openings each year through 2035. While more than 18 million people already work in the trades, contributing an estimated $3.8 trillion to U.S. GDP in 2025, the supply-demand balance remains uneven. Industrial-machinery mechanics, machinery-maintenance workers, and millwrights rank in the 98th percentile for shortage pressure among 523 occupations; electricians sit at the 85th percentile and automotive technicians at the 54th. Demographically, nearly one-quarter of workers are 55 or older, compared with only 11 % under 25. The report estimates the nation is preparing about 55 workers for every 100 needed, noting that apprenticeship completion rates hover at 48 % and only 29 % of completers enter a trade within five years.
Michigan LIFT Initiative
The day before unveiling the report, Farley and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon announced Michigan LIFT (Launchpad for Industrial Innovation & Transformation), a $2 billion public-private effort. Ford aims to award up to $1 billion in contracts to participating suppliers over the next decade, while JPMorgan plans to provide up to $1 billion in financing. Dimon highlighted Detroit’s decade-long collaboration among business, government, and community leaders as a model for scaling the initiative.
Recommendations and Outlook
The report urges improvements in apprenticeship completion and placement, expanded child-care and transportation supports for trainees, stronger links between high-school career programs and apprenticeships, and proactive workforce planning tied to major capital projects. Farley framed these steps as a counter to “siloed approaches,” arguing that coordinated action is essential for sustaining America’s manufacturing future.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Skilled trades are the backbone of our country and American manufacturing, and the backbone of the American dream,” — Jim Farley, ford CEO — Jim Farley, Ford CEO.