Workforce Watch

Will We Have Enough Skilled Trade Workers to Sustain Essential Services that Americans Rely on Daily?

The skilled trades are on the cusp of significant growth, driven by demand across industries like manufacturing, utilities, construction, and transportation. By 2034, advanced manufacturing and production (+200,000 jobs), installation, maintenance, and repair (IMR) (+450,000 jobs), and construction (+500,000 jobs) occupations are projected to add over a million new jobs. Semiconductor technician roles, driven by CHIPS Act investments, are expected to grow 13 percent. IMR jobs are expanding across sectors like energy, healthcare, and automotive. 

Critical Supply-Demand Pressures:

But this future isn’t guaranteed. Demographic shifts, declining male workforce participation, and uncertainty around federal funding and policies pose serious risks to meeting this demand.

Image: BHEF Analysis of Lightcast and Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Historically, many skilled trade occupations have relied heavily on male workers, but recent trends reveal several alarming signals:

The CHIPS Act promised to spur job growth in semiconductor manufacturing and production while increasing training opportunities. But political uncertainty and potential pauses in funding could limit these gains, reducing both the demand for talent and the infrastructure needed to train workers.

Building a Resilient Talent Pipeline

The question is no longer just about how much these occupations will grow, it’s about whether we’ll have the workforce to fill these roles. Meeting this challenge will require coordinated action:

  1. Expand and Diversify the Talent Pool: Recruit more women and underrepresented groups while addressing declining male enrollment and completion rates. Partner with groups like Chicago Women in Trades that offer free hands-on training, pre-apprenticeship programs, and a community for women in the trades.
  2. Market Skilled Trades Differently: Highlight career opportunities, economic mobility, and the high wages associated with these roles to better attract talent.
  3. Expand On-the-Job Training (OJT): Develop innovative new or expand existing OJT models that address challenges and increase the number of people gaining experience early on. Customized training to address unique skillsets, using emerging technologies to address training challenges, and partnering with associations or intermediary organizations are a few ways OJT can be expanded.
  4. Plan for Funding Shifts: Identify multiple funding streams, including those outside of federal funding, to make training programs sustainable and to increase community college capacity to train for these roles.

The skilled trades are poised for transformation. Without action, we risk falling short of the workforce needed to sustain industrial growth and support essential services and infrastructure that Americans rely on daily.

More from Bridging Business and Education

Will AI Be Writing 90% of Code in Six Months?

What does that mean for computer science roles?

Leading the AI Workforce Revolution: The Business-Higher Education Forum’s 2025 Initiatives

Through the Business-Higher Education Forum’s unique network of corporate and academic leaders, we are mobilizing high-impact, cross-sector collaborations to ensure talent development keeps pace with AI-driven change and workforce transformation. We are proud to announce that in 2025, BHEF will launch three new initiatives to connect the expertise of the world’s leading technology and labor experts with the critical challenges shaping the future of work.

Navigating the Emerging 2025 Political Landscape

The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) recently brought together Fortune 500 companies and college leaders who share a commitment to higher education as America’s leading solution for hiring and training America’s workforce. Key themes? Immigration policy and its impact on both business and higher education, data transparency investments and policy alignment, and regional partnerships and AI integration.

Are Bachelor’s Degrees Losing Their Importance in Recruiting?

State governments and companies claim to be moving away from degree requirements, but what do labor market trends reveal?

Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025 at the Business-Higher Education Forum

Our latest blog post shares more about our 2025 impact agenda and key goals. We envision a future where higher education and business collaborate seamlessly to develop a skilled, adaptable workforce—one that drives innovation, fuels economic growth, and empowers individuals to thrive in meaningful careers. While we’re not there yet, the Business-Higher Education Forum is proud to support those in both sectors who are leading the way!

A Pivot in Cloud Computing

The report highlighted four key skill clusters: Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), Cloud Computing, Product Management, and Social Media. These skills were predicted to impact a diverse set of industries and job roles. Two years later, our prediction about AI/ML has certainly proven accurate...