• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Groundbreak Carolinas

MENUMENU
  • News
  • Careers
  • Resources
    • 2020 ABC of the Carolinas EIC Awards
    • AEC Industry Blogs
    • AEC School Directory
    • Asbestos Resources
    • Content Marketing
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Economic Forecasts
    • GroundBreak Carolinas Newsletter Archive
    • Health and Wellness
    • New Silica Standard Resources
    • Workforce Development Resources
  • Subscribe

GroundBreak Carolinas

Your source for construction industry news in the Carolinas

MENUMENU
  • Featured
  • Business
    • Accounting
    • Banking
    • Government Affairs
    • Management
    • Human Resources
    • Finance / Bonding
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Operations Management
    • Legal
    • Risk Management
  • Markets
    • Commercial
    • Distribution / Warehouse
    • Government Facilities
    • Health Care
    • Hotels / Hospitality
    • Industrial
    • Mission Critical / Data Centers
    • Multi-Family Residential
    • Office Buildings
    • Power / Energy
    • Retail / Shopping Centers
    • Roads, Bridges and Highways
    • Schools (K-12 and Higher Education)
    • Strategy
  • Technology
    • BIM / VDC / CAD
    • Estimating
    • Construction
    • Jobsite
  • Workforce
    • Apprenticeships
    • Recruiting
    • Safety
    • Training
    • Veterans Programs
    • Operations
  • Operations
    • Architecture
    • Contracting
    • Energy
    • Engineering
    • Equipment
    • Facilities
    • Maintenance
    • Products
  • Education
    • Colleges
    • High Schools
    • Online Programs
    • Technical Schools
    • ACE Mentor
  • Projects
  • People
  • Economic Development
  • Partners
  • News
  • Events
  • Careers
  • Resources
    • AEC Industry Blogs
    • AEC School Directory
    • Asbestos Resources
    • Content Marketing
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Economic Forecasts
    • GroundBreak Carolinas Newsletter Archive
    • New Silica Standard Resources
    • Workforce Development Resources

Business | Technical Schools

Lowe’s Commits To Developing Future Skilled Trades Workforce With New Employee Pre-Apprenticeship Program

by GroundBreak Carolinas Staff on February 22, 2018

Mooresville, NC-based Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) announced Track to the Trades, a new workforce development initiative that aims 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, an adult education company. The initiative comes at a time when the skilled trade industry is experiencing a rapidly declining workforce.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Lowe’s Companies, Inc.)

Lowe’s announces Track to the Trades, a new workforce development initiative that aims to provide innovative career alternatives and financial support for employees to pursue a skilled trade.

According to the Home Improvement Research Institute, more than 60 percent of skilled trade professionals agree that there is a shortage of labor in the construction industry. The same study reports ongoing hiring challenges for professional contractors, with 40 percent of pros looking to expand their job site workforce.

To begin addressing this critical trade skills gap while also providing employees with a variety of career paths and economic opportunity, Lowe’s is offering employees:

-Upfront tuition funding for trade skill certification
-Academic coaching and support
-Placement opportunities for full-time pre-apprenticeships in Lowe’s nationwide contractor network or continued growth with Lowe’s

Beginning March 1, Lowe’s will debut Track to the Trades in four cities: Charlotte, Denver, Pittsburgh and Richmond. Following the four-city pilot, the program will be expanded to qualified Lowe’s part-time and full-time employee 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

Jennifer L. Weber, Lowe’s chief human resources officer, (PR Foto/Lowe’s Companies, Inc.)

a massive unmet need,” said Jennifer L. 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.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the nation’s need for workers in the skilled trades is increasing much faster than the growth of employment overall, according to a recent forecast. In fact, Lowe’s analysis of BLS data projects we will experience a skilled trades gap of more than a half million jobs across construction-related fields by 2026. Lowe’s Track to the Trades program is a first step toward rebuilding the skilled trades workforce and infusing pride back into trade professions that are vital to society.

“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.”

Source: Lowe’s Companies

Topics: Business, Technical Schools
Apprenticeship, Lowes

Primary Sidebar

What We’re Reading

  • Wolfspeed expanding following passage of CHIPS Act
    Source: Business North Carolina Published on August 17, 2022
  • Dogwood Health Trust strengthening early childhood teacher workforce
    Source: Business North Carolina Published on August 17, 2022
  • Letter to the Editor: Calling 811 before you dig up your yard could save your life
    Source: Greenville Journal Published on August 17, 2022
  • SCTAC landing new clients, deepening partnership with old ones
    Source: Upstate Business Journal Published on August 17, 2022
  • Greenville Chamber announces 49th Leadership Greenville class participants
    Source: Upstate Business Journal Published on August 17, 2022

Recent Posts

  • CAGC Announces Safety Award Winners at 2022 Summer Conference
  • ENR Southeast Recognizes Eight Carolinas Projects in 2022 Best Projects Regional Awards Competition
  • SeamonWhiteside-LS3P Team of Volunteers Create New Landscape at Camp for Kids Diagnosed with Cancer
  • What Your Gen Z Employees Want
  • A Tale of Two Challenges – and Solutions – in Water Treatment Construction

Footer

  • About GBC
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Editorial
  • Submit Event
  • Partnerships/Contributors

Advertise with Us

Join Our Mailing List

  • By clicking Submit you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2022 GroundBreak Carolinas LLC. Design by Imagine Higher.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use