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BlackRock to Spend $100 Million Over Five Years Training 50,000 Trades Workers
BlackRock's philanthropic arm started the Future Builders program last month. It will spend $100 million over five years to train and place workers in electricians, welders, plumbers, HVAC and wiremen roles. Partners include Walmart, Home Depot, Carhartt, Google and Meta.
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BlackRock launched the Future Builders initiative last month through its philanthropic arm. The program will deploy $100 million over the next five years to train and place 50,000 skilled trades workers. The initiative targets electricians, welders, plumbers, HVAC technicians and wiremen.
BlackRock is partnering with Walmart, Home Depot, Carhartt, Google and Meta to support the effort. John Kelly, BlackRock’s Global Head of Corporate Affairs, said the company is investing in both projects and people to meet urgent infrastructure needs.
“There’s a real urgent need in the United States to build the infrastructure that is necessary… to compete in technology, and especially to become energy resilient,” Kelly said.
Kelly added that the trades provide good-paying jobs for sophisticated, highly trained individuals. “We just need a lot more of them,” he said. BlackRock, founded in 1988 by eight partners, oversees more than $14 trillion in assets.
Kelly said the firm is partnering with organizations already experienced in training rather than running programs itself. “We’re not experts on training people. We’re experts in investing,” he said. Kelly framed the effort as a way to celebrate workers who are independent and financially secure.
“We want to celebrate these people because these are hardworking Americans who are independent, who are financially secure, and who are building the future of the country,” he said.
