Ford CEO challenges the college default

Ford CEO Jim Farley said the air we breathe is a four-year degree, pushing back on the assumption that college is the only path forward for young people.

“the air we breathe is a four-year degree”

The Alliance launches with major partners

Ford launched the Alliance for America's Skilled Trades with Google, BlackRock, and Carhartt to research how students, parents, and teachers view the trades.

The jobs gap is massive

Employers will need to fill about 1.7 million skilled trades openings every year through 2035, but training programs are preparing roughly 55 people for every 100 of those jobs.

Interest is high, but completion is low

Seventy-one percent of teens say they would be proud to pursue a skilled trade, and eighty-one percent of parents would be proud if their child did. Yet of every 100 people who start an apprenticeship, only 48 finish.

The real problem: what happens after enrollment

Just 29 people are working in a trade five years after starting an apprenticeship. America is losing young talent after they've already said yes, and much of that is in employers' hands.

Barriers employers built themselves

Apprentices earn little while they learn, and in some trades they carry costs employers used to cover. Auto technicians, for example, are paid per repair regardless of how long the job takes and buy their own tools.

Mexico shows what works

The International Youth Foundation worked with automakers to design technical tracks in automotive painting, tool and die manufacturing, and automation across 28 campuses. Eighty-two percent of graduates were employed within five to six months.

What the Alliance must do next

Alliance members should publish completion and five-year retention rates for training programs. Employers should co-write curriculum in public schools, pay apprentices while they learn, cover tool costs, and ensure jobs pay a living wage.