Business Roundtable Announces National Partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Goodwill and SkillsUSA to Strengthen the U.S. Skilled Trades Workforce

Washington – Business Roundtable today announced three national partnerships as part of its Skilled Trades for America Initiative (STAI), with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Goodwill Industries International and SkillsUSA, to expand training, work-based learning opportunities and career exposure for Americans pursuing skilled trades careers.

The partnerships were unveiled at the Roundtable’s Skilled Trades for America Forum, held May 26 at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. The forum convened CEOs, policymakers, training providers and workforce leaders to examine how employers, government and community institutions can work together to close the country’s skilled labor gap.

“The demand for skilled service technicians in the U.S. continues to grow,” said David Gitlin, Chairman and CEO of Carrier, and STAI Co-Champion. “No company can solve this challenge alone. By partnering with organizations that are deeply connected to communities across the country, we can help more Americans discover rewarding careers in the skilled trades and build the workforce needed to support our infrastructure, economy and future growth.”

“While technology continues to evolve, it cannot replace plumbers, electricians, construction workers, maintenance and repair pros, or other tradespeople,” said Marvin Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Lowe’s, and STAI Co-Champion. “These are the Americans who build our homes, power our communities and keep our economy running. Skilled trades careers offer real opportunity, real growth and a real future — and it’s on all of us to open more doors to them.”

Each of the three partnerships aims to expand the pipeline of Americans pursuing skilled trades careers. Business Roundtable will serve as a connector and convenor to member companies interested in working with the three partner organizations.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) will partner with Business Roundtable to help more K-12 students learn about and explore careers in the skilled trades. BGCA aims to grow work-based learning experiences from 44,000 in 2023 to 78,000 by 2028 and expand foundational Life & Workforce Readiness programming to 100% of Clubs nationwide, building early career awareness and essential skills for young people ages 6 to 18.
• Goodwill Industries International will partner with Business Roundtable to ready talent to meet America’s skilled trades talent demand. Goodwill will provide high quality industry-recognized training and supports tailored to remove barriers to employment. Across its network of 150 local organizations, Goodwill operates training programs and technical training centers with a plan to expand to 30 markets by 2030, with support from national strategic partners, including Accenture, the Lowe’s Foundation and General Motors. Pathways include HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, construction and welding, as well as training in clean energy technologies like solar, EV charging, heat pumps and energy efficiency.
• SkillsUSA will partner with Business Roundtable to encourage students to enter the skilled trades by recognizing those who do on National Signing Day — a day celebrating when students who have chosen to enter the skilled trades sign letters of intent alongside their families and future employers. Roundtable member companies will be invited to host signing events in their communities. At the most recent National Signing Day on May 6, 5,700 students signed letters of intent to pursue careers in the trades. 

At the forum, Business Roundtable also released two case studies highlighting how STAI co-champions Carrier and Lowe’s are tackling the skilled labor shortage at scale. 

The Carrier case study spotlights the company’s TechVantage Initiative, launched in January 2025 with the goal of training 100,000 technicians and sales professionals and hiring 1,000 U.S. service technicians by 2030. In 2025 alone, Carrier delivered more than 200,000 training hours to over 30,000 industry professionals.

The Lowe’s case study details how the Lowe’s Foundation has invested nearly $53 million in 65 nonprofits and community colleges across 27 states since 2023 through its Gable Grants program, advancing a goal to train 250,000 tradespeople by 2035. It also highlights Lowe’s Track to the Trades, a tuition-free program that has enrolled more than 31,000 associates seeking skilled trades certifications.

In addition to the partnership announcements and case study release, the forum featured CEOs from Ball Corporation, Carrier, Duke Energy, Lowe’s and Stanley Black & Decker; U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC); North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley; and leaders from Accenture, Bank of America, Day & Zimmermann, GE Aerospace, the Lowe’s Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Central Piedmont Community College, Goodwill Industries International and Stand Together. Discussions explored public-private partnerships, scalable training models, HR strategies to address the skilled labor shortage and the role of community colleges and nonprofits in building the workforce of tomorrow. Attendees also toured Central Piedmont’s mobile training units and Learning Cottages to see firsthand how the college is preparing the next generation of skilled trades talent. 

Background on the Skilled Trades for America Initiative

Business Roundtable launched the Skilled Trades for America Initiative (STAI) in 2025 in response to growing labor shortages affecting the strength and competitiveness of the American industrial base. STAI strengthens talent pipelines for skilled workers by convening member companies to share best practices in workforce development, developing pilot projects and partnerships to address local workforce needs, and raising awareness of skilled trades careers and their importance to the U.S. economy. This work focuses on trades critical to America’s production economy, including industrial and manufacturing, construction and building, maintenance and repair, and energy.

The initiative is co-championed by David Gitlin, Chairman & CEO of Carrier and Marvin Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Lowe’s. To learn more, click here.