BlackRock's John Kelly: Skilled trades are growing path to living, investing better

"When I was younger," Kelly told me in an interview, "I was told to go get a four-year college degree — that was the only way to build wealth and to get economic security. And we forgot along the way, as a country, that there are alternative paths."

• "One of the best paths is to go through these apprenticeships, go through certified training, and go right into the workforce much faster, and have a family-sustaining job directly without any debt and make a good income with benefits that allow you to invest better, live better and retire with dignity, which is BlackRock's mission."

The big picture: AI's uncertain impact on the job market has prompted renewed interest in the skilled trades, which some see as better positioned to withstand any fallout.

Go deeper: "Infrastructure and the opportunity in skilled trades."