As employers across the country look for skilled workers, the Lowe’s Foundation is backing a new effort aimed at creating more pathways into high-paying skilled trades careers that do not require a traditional four-year college degree.
Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison joined “FOX & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones on Wednesday to discuss the company’s push to expand the skilled trades workforce and change perceptions around career paths outside a four-year degree.
Ellison said Lowe’s is launching the “Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition” with a goal of helping train and develop one million people for skilled trades careers by 2035, pointing to careers including plumbing, electrical work, welding and HVAC.
“These are great jobs. These are six-figure jobs… You don’t need to get a four-year degree to have one of these incredible careers,” Ellison said.
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The effort builds on work already underway through the Lowe’s Foundation. Ellison said the foundation committed $250 million to help train and develop 250,000 tradespeople by 2035, but the scale of the workforce challenge requires broader participation.
He said the coalition has brought in companies including NVIDIA, Bank of America, General Motors and AT&T. The group plans to invest in training and credentialing programs, including those run by community colleges and nonprofits, while also helping connect people with open positions.
Ellison said part of the effort is about challenging the idea that a college degree is the only route to professional success.
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“We’re going to change the perception. That getting a four-year degree is the only way you can be successful in this country,” Ellison said.
Ellison tied the initiative to his own background, noting that his father did not graduate from high school and describing his own path to becoming CEO of two Fortune 500 companies as an example of the American dream.
“Look man, I’m the middle child of seven kids, dad never graduated from high school, mother was the oldest of 16, and yet I’ve been the CEO of two Fortune 500 companies. It’s totally the American dream,” Ellison said.
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He also warned that failing to address the skilled labor shortage could carry broader economic consequences, saying the country could face roughly 2.1 million unfilled skilled trades jobs by 2030 and potential economic losses of up to $1 trillion annually.
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