Johnson College to take part in Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition

Johnson College was invited to participate in the Lowe’s Foundation Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition, the largest cross-sector skilled trades coalition in U.S. history. The coalition brings together more than 75 organizations from across the country to help train and develop 1 million people for skilled trades careers by 2035.

The coalition comes as the United States faces a significant skilled trades workforce shortage, with an estimated 2.1 million skilled trades jobs potentially going unfilled by 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

For Johnson College, the initiative builds on more than a century of preparing students for careers in the skilled trades and its continued commitment to meeting workforce needs through career and technical education.

“Preparing skilled technicians and technologists for meaningful careers has always been at the heart of what we do,” said Dr. Katie Pittelli, president and CEO of Johnson College. “Being invited to join this coalition allows us to work alongside organizations across the country to create more opportunities for people to discover, prepare for and succeed in the skilled trades.”

The coalition brings together educators, businesses, workforce organizations, corporate leaders, industry vendors and other stakeholders, including NVIDIA, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, DEWALT and Duke Energy.

The Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition will focus on three key areas:

• Changing perceptions of careers in the skilled trades;
• Investing in, connecting and scaling proven training and credentialing solutions; and
• Collectively measuring progress from training to employment.

The coalition builds on the Lowe’s Foundation’s Gable Grants program, which launched in 2023 and has grown into a national network of 73 community colleges and nonprofits across 30 states. Johnson College was one of just 12 institutions of higher education nationwide selected to receive a Lowe’s Foundation Gable Grant in 2025, receiving $450,000 to support skilled trades education. The success of the Gable Grants program helped lead the foundation to expand its national mission to train and develop 250,000 tradespeople by 2035 through a $250 million investment.

Coalition members will work across industries, including construction, automotive manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, HVAC, technology and financial services, to strengthen the skilled trades talent pipeline from recruitment through career advancement.