Lowe’s launches workforce development program
With a labor shortage haunting America’s construction and home building industries, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is getting serious about workforce development.
Today the Mooresville, N.C.-based home improvement giant announced “Track to the Trades,” a new labor development initiative designed to provide innovative career alternatives and financial support for employees to pursue a skilled trade.
The program will be supported in partnership with Guild Education, a Denver, Colo.-based adult education company.
Under terms of the program, Lowe’s will offer employees upfront tuition funding for trade skill certification, academic coaching and support, and placement opportunities for full-time pre-apprenticeships in Lowe's nationwide contractor network. Employees can also opt to continue their career growth with Lowe's, the company said.
The program will debut March 1 through a four-city pilot program, including Charlotte, N.C., Denver, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Richmond, Va. Lowe’s then plans to expand the program to qualified part-time and full-time employees nationwide by the end of 2018.
Eligible employees will receive up to $2,500 to gain a certification and serve as a pre-apprentice in carpentry, HVAC, electrical, plumbing or appliance repair careers. Pre-apprenticeships take approximately six to 10 months, and participants will also receive enrollment guidance and a field mentor.
"The trade profession is a high-demand, high-opportunity field for the next generation workforce, and today, there is a massive unmet need," said Jennifer Weber, Lowe's chief human resources officer. "With Track to the Trades, we are providing unique career alternatives for our associates while also building a pipeline for the next generation of skilled trade workers, allowing us to better meet the demands of customers while creating long-term educational benefits and economic opportunity for our people."
Lowe's said that recent analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that the nation will experience a skilled trades gap of more than a half million jobs across construction-related fields by 2026.
"Lowe's is leading the way on pre-apprenticeship models that prepare employees for jobs of the future, both while working at Lowe's and beyond in their careers," said Guild Education CEO, Rachel Carlson. "The education pathways offered by Lowe's eliminate the all-to-common false choice between trades programs and advancement in higher education. At Guild, we're honored to be working with the Lowe's team on this first-of-a-kind partnership."
Lowe's operates and services more than 2,370 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.