Lowe’s Invests $250M To Train Plumbers, Carpenters, And Electricians, Skills ‘Critical To The Future’

Lowe's is investing $250 million over the next decade to train the next generation of plumbers, carpenters, and electricians.

Lowe’s is investing $250 million to train the next generation of plumbers, carpenters, and electricians—skills its CEO calls “critical to the future.”

On April 7, Lowe’s announced a $250 million, decade-long investment to train 250,000 workers in skilled trades like plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work, Fortune reports. CEO Marvin Ellison said the move responds to shifting workforce trends, making trade education vital to the country’s future.

“We’re a company that believes strongly in the future of AI,” Ellison said. “But in a world where administrative and analytical occupations are going to be increasingly dominated with the acceleration of AI, we think the skilled-trades initiative is going to be even more important here in the near future.”

While AI continues to expand across industries, it can’t repair what’s broken or build the physical infrastructure—like the data centers it operates from that power the digital economy.

“As powerful as AI will become, AI can’t climb a ladder to change the batteries in your smoke detector,” Ellison said. “It can’t change your furnace filter; it can’t clean your dryer vent; it can’t repair a hole on your roof.”

The investment comes as the Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the U.S. will need about 350,000 additional construction workers in 2026, rising to 456,000 in 2027. Electricians, plumbers, and carpenters face similar shortages, and while demand and wages are increasing, the training pipeline hasn’t kept up.

The investment is personal for Ellison, who grew up in Brownsville, Tennessee, and saw tradespeople—plumbers, electricians, and mechanics—as some of the most respected professionals in his community. While he pursued degrees from the University of Memphis and Emory University, his brother became a welder, a path Ellison says has long been undervalued.

“There’s not that one option is better or worse; it’s all about that there are different paths to trying to obtain prosperity, and we all, me included, need to do a better job of presenting skilled trades as rewarding, viable careers, not just backup plans,” he said. “These trades are really a way to create meaningful wealth for yourself, and it’s a way to earn a very dignified living, and you can do it with a lot less debt.”

While companies like BlackRock and Google have recently invested in trade training, including a partnership with the Electrical Training Alliance, Ellison says more action is needed. He warns that the skilled-labor shortage could become not just an economic issue, but a national one.

“We know we can’t do it alone,” he said. “This is going to be so critical to the future, not only of our company, but to our country.”