Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces First-Of-Its-Kind National Skilled Trades Initiative to Accelerate High School Students into High-Wage, In-Demand Trade Careers
$90 million initiative expands and modernizes technical training in nine U.S. regions with key partners including Ford Motor Company in Detroit – connecting students directly to paid training and Registered Apprenticeships in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, construction, carpentry, welding, and auto tech
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ investment in Career and Technical Education totals $570 million
New York, NY – Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced a $90 million initiative to change how high school students prepare for and enter Registered Apprenticeships and high-wage, family-sustaining careers in the skilled trades. The initiative, which will be free for students, will launch in nine U.S. geographies and focus on infrastructure-related fields including electrical work, HVAC, plumbing, welding, construction, carpentry, and auto tech. It is the first national program exclusively for high schoolers designed to provide direct pathways to careers in skilled trades, while also addressing acute labor shortages in targeted geographies.
The initiative will provide coursework and paid on-the-job training for approximately 15,000 students across Boston, MA; Chattanooga, TN; Detroit, MI; Houston, TX; Raleigh, NC; Richmond, VA; St. Louis, MO; Washington, D.C.; and the state of New Jersey – with 2,000 students advancing into Registered Apprenticeships. By formalizing partnerships among labor unions, local school districts, local governments, and employers, the initiative aims to replace the current fragmented mix of training programs available to high schoolers with a clear, scalable route from the classroom to a career.
Since 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported innovative Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs around the country to create strong career opportunities in high-growth industries for over 300,000 students. Students have gained relevant experience and recognized credentials through internships, apprenticeships, academics, and work-based learning. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the creation of high schools around the nation that pair public education systems and hospitals to directly graduate students into high-demand healthcare jobs with family-sustaining wages. This initiative is now in 13 communities. To date, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ total investment in CTE initiatives, including this new skilled trades program, is $570 million, reflecting a continued commitment to creating sustainable, long-term models of workforce development and economic mobility.
“Millions of good-paying jobs are going unfilled, and too many students never get a chance to learn the skills necessary to get them. This new initiative will help change that,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City. “By bringing schools, unions, and employers together as partners, we can offer students free training and credentials that lead directly to rewarding careers. Jobs in the skilled trades helped build America’s middle class, and now they can help a new generation enter and strengthen it.”
The new initiative responds to both growing student interest in skilled trades careers and the rising national demand for qualified workers in these fields. Across the country, the gap between available jobs and trained tradespeople is expected to intensify as large portions of the current workforce reach retirement age. Industry analyses drawing on Bureau of Labor Statistics data estimate that the construction industry will need to hire more than 700,000 workers annually to meet demand, including approximately 81,000 electricians and 44,000 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters each year, creating significant opportunities for students seeking high-demand, well-paying career pathways.
The average age of new apprentices in the U.S. is 29. Introducing students to skilled trades careers earlier through supportive, high-quality high school pathways benefits both workers and employers: young people gain earlier access to stable, well-paying careers, while employers build a stronger pipeline of skilled workers during their prime working years.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is helping to tackle systemic barriers to entry and build a more direct path to career-ready certification and careers. The initiative focuses on three core strategic pillars:
- Integrated Apprenticeships: Students begin apprenticeship pathways while still in high school, earning industry-recognized credentials, hands-on training, and advanced standing in Registered Apprenticeship programs before graduation – enabling them to enter the workforce at a higher pay grade upon graduation.
- Applied Technical Curriculum: Technical instruction is co-designed with unions and employers to reflect real-world job requirements, combining hands-on learning, modern technologies, and rigorous academics aligned to apprenticeship standards.
- Seamless Career Launch: Formal partnerships among school districts, governments, unions, and employers create direct pipelines from the classroom into Registered Apprenticeships and long-term careers.
The nine participating regions were selected based on localized labor market data and long-term projections for career growth in the trades. By focusing on areas with the strongest demand for new talent, the initiative will help ensure students are training for careers that are aligned with the actual economic needs of their communities.
In Detroit, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Ford Motor Company are co-investing in the automotive technician program at Detroit Public Schools — upgrading facilities, implementing a new employer-led curriculum and quadrupling program capacity. Integrating industry-standard certifications directly into the high school experience will help create a seamless pipeline to high-demand roles across Ford’s dealer network and the broader auto sector. Ford Motor Company’s investment is part of its $300 million commitment to skilled trades workforce development and the Essential Economy this year.
“The future of our country depends on the skilled trades,” said Jim Farley, CEO of Ford. “By 2029, we’re going to need more than 350,000 new auto technicians across the country — including about 7,000 here in Michigan. 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. That’s why Ford is investing in innovative programs like this — to disrupt the old model and give students a direct path from high school to great jobs, with the chance to keep growing their income, their skills and even their own businesses over time.”
Other regional partners involved in the new Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative include:
Boston:
Partners:
City of Boston (lead)
Boston Public Schools
Greater Boston Building Trades Unions
North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
Laborers’ International Union of North America – New England Region
Boston Water and Sewer Commission
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District 15, Local 100
Focus Areas:
Construction, Water Utilities
Chattanooga:
Partners:
Chattanooga 2.0 (lead)
Associated General Contractors (AGC) East Tennessee
Chattanooga Building and Construction Trades Council
EPB (Electric Power Board)
Hamilton County Schools
IBEW Local 175
UA Local 43 Plumbers and Steamfitters
Focus Areas:
Welding, Plumbing, Electrical
Houston:
Partners:
Houston City College Foundation (lead)
Alief Independent School District
BridgeYear
CenterPoint Energy
Good Reason Houston
Greater Houston Partnership (GHP)
Gulf Coast Region Apprenticeship Hub
Hays Electrical
Houston Area Plumbing Joint Apprenticeship Committee- Plumbers Local Union 68
Pipefitters Local 211
Houston City College
Houston Independent School District
Focus Areas:
HVAC, Plumbing, Welding, Electrical
New Jersey:
Partners:
Big Picture Learning (lead)
Associated Construction Contractors of NJ
Barringer High School
Camden County Technical Schools (Gloucester Campus, Pennsauken Campus)
Carpenter Contractor Trust
Essex County Schools of Technology (Essex County Tech, Essex County West Caldwell Tech, Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. Tech)
Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Technical Centers
Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
Focus Areas:
Carpentry, Electrical, Plumbing, Ironwork, Sheet Metal, Laborers, Bricklaying
Raleigh:
Partners:
Wake Tech Community College Foundation (lead)
Capital Area Workforce Development Board
LL Vann Electric, Inc.
Shook Construction
Wake County Public School System
Focus Areas:
Electrical, HVAC
Richmond:
Partners:
Richmond Ed Fund (lead)
Chewing & Wilmer
ColonialWebb Contractors
Hazelwood Electrical & General Services
Kirila Construction Services
Lighthouse Electric
Richmond Public Schools
Focus Areas:
Construction, Electrical
St. Louis:
Partners:
The Opportunity Trust (lead)
Civil Design, Inc.
Craftsmen Industries
Gateway Science Academy
Hoffman Brothers
Independent Electrical Contractors
Quest Specialty Products
Kairos Academies
Mid-America Carpenters Union
Streib Electric
Seyer Industries
True Manufacturing
University City High School
Focus Areas:
Manufacturing, Building Trades
Washington, D.C.:
Partners:
CityWorks DC (lead)
Clark Construction
Davis Construction
DC Public Schools
DC Students Construction Trades Foundation
Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
Federal City Council
Friendship Public Charter Schools
W.E. Bowers
Focus Areas:
Construction
Across the geographies, Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund:
- Paid Work-Based Learning and Student Support: Wages for students engaged in paid on-the-job training and industry-aligned apprenticeships. To ensure equitable access, essential supports such as transportation, stipends, and required tools and equipment will also be covered.
- Specialized Curriculum: Technical coursework and rigorous pre-apprenticeship coursework as well as the hiring of expert staff to deliver union and industry aligned instruction.
- Capital Upgrades: Upgrading and retrofitting school facilities, such as welding labs and carpentry shops, to provide hands-on technical learning.
“As Richmond continues to grow, this initiative gives us a powerful tool to align our public schools with the future of our local economy,” said Danny Avula, Mayor of Richmond, VA. “This partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies allows us to modernize our approach to public education, turning traditional classroom learning into immediate, high-wage opportunities. By building direct pipelines from the classroom to local employers, we are ensuring our young people have a clear path to stable careers right in their home communities, while providing a blueprint for how cities should invest in their workforce.”
“This initiative is about creating clearer, more connected pathways for young people into thriving-wage careers while helping meet critical workforce needs in our region. Chattanooga has spent years building the partnerships and infrastructure to better connect education, industry, and opportunity, and this investment allows us to accelerate that work in a transformational way,” said Keri Randolph, Lead, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Skilled Trades Initiative. “What makes this effort different is that employers, unions, schools, and community partners are building the system together—from career exploration through apprenticeship and employment. We believe Chattanooga can become a national model for how communities create durable school-to-career pathways in the skilled trades.”
“As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ national skilled trades initiative, we are thrilled to join local education, industry, and workforce leaders in launching the Gulf Coast TradeUp Careers Initiative — a collaborative effort led by Houston City College and the Gulf Coast Region Apprenticeship Hub to expand pathways into high-demand skilled trades careers across the region,” said Jill Quinn, Deputy Chief CCMR, Houston Independent School District. “This collaboration will expand access to high-quality dual credit, pre-apprenticeship, and registered apprenticeship opportunities and help hundreds of HISD students gain industry-recognized credentials, hands-on experience, and direct pathways into high-demand, living-wage careers in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, welding, and other critical skilled trades industries. Together, we are strengthening the work happening across HISD and increasing the long-term economic mobility of more students.”
“The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters is proud to partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies on this transformative initiative because the future of the skilled trades depends on creating clear, accessible pathways for the next generation of workers. The world-class training, paid career opportunities, and Registered Apprenticeships students will get will lead to family-sustaining wages without the burden of student debt,” said Anthony Abrantes, Assistant Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. “Across our region and throughout the country, demand for highly trained union carpenters continues to grow as we modernize infrastructure, expand housing, and build the clean energy economy. By introducing young people to the trades earlier and providing hands-on experience alongside industry partners, we are not only addressing critical workforce shortages, we are ensuring that young people have access to stable, high-tech, high-demand careers that will shape the future of our communities and our economy.”
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About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2025, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $4.3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.
Media Contact:
Rachel Nagler, Bloomberg Philanthropies: racheln@bloomberg.org