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Picture 100 open skilled trades jobs. Electricians, welders, HVAC technicians, line workers. Today's training programs prepare about 55 people to fill them. The other 45 seats are waiting for someone.
That number comes from new national research from the Alliance for America's Skilled Trades, produced by JFF and the Burning Glass Institute. The Alliance, launched by BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford and Google, estimates the U.S. will need to fill about 1.7 million skilled trades openings every year through 2035.
The skilled trades already employ more than 18 million workers and support a $3.8 trillion slice of the economy. Of the 124 trades occupations in the study, 86 are growing or holding steady. And nearly 1 in 4 trades workers is 55 or older, so a wave of experienced people will be handing off their tools in the years ahead.
Put simply: the demand is real, it is everywhere, and it is long-term.
Most young people choose a path from the careers they can picture. A teacher, a nurse, a doctor. They see those jobs every day. A lineman restoring power at 2 a.m. or an apprentice wiring a new hospital is harder to picture from a classroom.
When a 16-year-old sees what a day on a jobsite actually looks like, what it pays, and how to get started, the trades become a real option. Exposure is the first step on the path.
Interest grows fastest when the next step is obvious. Pre-apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships, technical college programs and summer jobs all work best when young people, parents and Educators can find them in one place and understand how they connect.
The people best able to show what the work is like are the people doing it. A 60-second video from an apprentice. A short post about what a first year looks like. An open internship. When Businesses share their stories, young people can picture themselves on the team.
That is how the 45 open seats start to fill: one real story, one clear path, one young person at a time.
CareerPathway.com brings Students, Individuals, Educators, Colleges and Businesses together so young people can explore real careers and see the steps to get there. Businesses create a free profile, share A Day in the Life on their team, and post opportunities when they are ready.
Ready to show the next wave of talent what is possible in your trade? Create your free Business profile today.
Source: JFF and the Burning Glass Institute, The State of America's Skilled Trades: A National Report (2026).