Building America: investing in infrastructure and the workforce

Building infrastructure can create pathways to financially secure careers, particularly for people who do not pursue a four-year college degree. Skilled trades typically pay above-average wages, with electricians, plumbers and ironworkers earning materially more than the median US worker. Labor shortages, driven by rising demand and retirements, are likely to keep upward pressure on wages. Many of these roles also offer benefits such as retirement savings and health coverage.

Skilled trades offer structural advantages: apprenticeships lower the upfront cost of entry by allowing individuals to earn while they train; hands-on skills are difficult to offshore or automate; and formal training and certification help sustain earnings power and career progression. The result is an accessible, durable career pathway that combines strong economics with long-term job security.

Demand for skilled labor is rising quickly, but supply is not keeping pace. In fields like electrical work, current training capacity is insufficient to offset projected growth retirements.³ With many supervisors nearing retirement, the skilled trades face a demographic challenge.⁴ Closing the gap will require scaling registered apprenticeships, which serve as the primary pipeline into these careers, and strengthening collaboration among governments, unions, employers, colleges and nonprofits.

Across the country, stakeholders are responding with practical solutions: expanding outreach to high school students, veterans and underrepresented groups;⁵ aligning training more closely with employer needs; integrating classroom instruction with paid, on-the-job learning;⁶ modernizing curricula through hybrid and technology-enabled models;⁷ improving geographic mobility; and introducing innovative funding mechanisms, including tax credits, performance-based funding and new Workforce Pell Grants.⁸ Embedding financial literacy into apprenticeships further supports completion rates and long-term financial success.⁹ Together, these efforts aim to ensure the US has the workforce needed to deliver on its infrastructure ambitions while expanding access to durable economic opportunity.