BlackRock announces inaugural Future Builders winners, in push to promote skilled trades
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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink speaks Wednesday at Ford's Accelerate summit in Detroit. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg via Getty Images
BlackRock, promoting skilled trades as a promising path to a well-paying career, on Thursday announced $13 million in grants to 15 inaugural winners of the BlackRock Future Builders program.
Why it matters: The grants from the BlackRock Foundation span trades that include electrical, construction, HVAC, welding, plumbing, pipefitting, heavy equipment operation and other infrastructure-related occupations.
- Larry Fink, BlackRock's chairman and CEO, is promoting the skilled trades message with appearances Wednesday at Ford's Accelerate summit in Detroit and on Thursday at Heartland Forward's Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Zoom out: The winners include groups that work with women, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals and tribal communities. The grants will help more than 5,400 individuals across 26 states prepare for careers in more than a dozen skilled trades, BlackRock said.
- The organizations include union training centers, union-affiliated organizations, chambers of commerce, colleges and universities, workforce intermediaries and community-based nonprofits.
- Grantees will "expand apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities, introduce more young people to skilled trades careers, and help workers access hands-on training and industry-recognized credentials," BlackRock said.
Fink said in the announcement: "America has enormous demand for skilled trades workers who can build and maintain what our country depends on, and these can be great jobs for millions of Americans."
- He said Future Builders is "investing in organizations that know how to turn that opportunity into lasting careers: helping people get the training they need and connecting them with employers who need their skills."
The inaugural winners:
- Canton Electrical JATC (Ohio)
- Goodwill Arkansas (Arkansas)
- Goodwill of Middle Georgia and the CSRA (Georgia)
- Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Foundation (Florida)
- Heavy Metal Summer Experience (nationwide)
- Helmets to Hardhats (nationwide)
- Iron Workers International (Texas)
- Louisiana Parole Project (Louisiana)
- Mitchell Technical College Foundation (South Dakota and surrounding region)
- National Veterans Transition Services, REBOOT (California)
- Nontraditional Employment for Women (New York)
- North Carolina Business Committee for Education in partnership with Careers Electric (North Carolina)
- Regional Development Corporation (New Mexico)
- Sacramento Area Electrical JATC, Alameda County Electrical JATC and San Joaquin Electrical Training Institute (California)
- University at Buffalo Business & Entrepreneur Partnerships (New York)
