ICYMI: CEOs, Sen. Budd and NC Commerce Sec. Lilley Discuss How to Strengthen America’s Skilled Trades Workforce at Business Roundtable Forum

On Investing in Talent That Builds America and Work-Based Learning:

• Chris Nelson, President & CEO, Stanley Black & Decker: “We thought it was important that we really leaned into what we know works — and that is training. We know a better trained technician is going to be safer, they’re going to be more productive, they’re more likely to have a longer and fulfilling career. ... We launched our Grow the Trades Initiative that by 2030 we will have invested $60 million into trade schools, trade associations, apprenticeship programs, community colleges, where we can bring people together with the training, with the tools, with the knowledge to really arm them to be able to do what they need to do to help us grow our country going forward.”
• Ron Lewis, CEO, Ball Corporation: “I think there’s been an overemphasis [on a four-year degree] versus working with your hands. ... We have 14 plants around North America that employ 5,000 people that don’t run unless we’ve got people who know how to operate that machinery. So we definitely want to lean in to help make manufacturing a rewarded career in America.”
• Harry K. Sideris, President & CEO, Duke Energy Corporation: “Our technicians are so critical to providing reliable service to our customers, but they're also critical in building the infrastructure that Secretary Lilley talked about to bring in businesses. We’re investing $103 billion over the next five years to improve our infrastructure, to modernize it, to also add generation for the economic development that is happening here in North Carolina.”
• Lee Lilley, Secretary, North Carolina Department of Commerce: “Governor Stein created a Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, which I co-chair with the president of the community college system and a Republican state senator. So, we’re bipartisan. We’re across the different branches of government … and what we have proposed to do and what we will do … is double the number of registered apprenticeships in North Carolina in the next four years because we see the value of those apprenticeships. Ninety percent of people who complete an apprenticeship program stay at that job for five years or more. And it’s not just registered apprenticeships. Our goal is to meet employers where they are in terms of their goals for having a work-based learning model — whether it’s internships, customized training, registered apprenticeships, you name it.”

Leading by Example:

At the forum, Business Roundtable also released two case studies highlighting how STAI co-champions Carrier and Lowe’s are tackling the skilled labor shortage at scale.

• The Carrier case study spotlights the company’s TechVantage Initiative, launched in January 2025 with the goal of training 100,000 technicians and sales professionals and hiring 1,000 U.S. service technicians by 2030. In 2025 alone, Carrier delivered more than 200,000 training hours to over 30,000 industry professionals.
• The Lowe’s case study details how the Lowe’s Foundation is advancing its goal to train 250,000 tradespeople by 2035 through a $250 million investment. The foundation has already invested nearly $53 million in 65 nonprofits and community colleges across 27 states since 2023 through its Gable Grants program. The case study also highlights Lowe’s Track to the Trades, a tuition-free program that has enrolled more than 31,000 associates seeking skilled trades certifications.

In addition to Business Roundtable CEOs, the event featured leaders from Accenture, Bank of America, Day & Zimmermann, GE Aerospace, the Lowe’s Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Central Piedmont Community College, Goodwill Industries International and Stand Together. Discussions explored public-private partnerships, scalable training models, HR strategies to address the skilled labor shortage and the role of community colleges and nonprofits in building the workforce of tomorrow.