This year, the mikeroweWORKS Foundation is awarding $2.4 million in work ethic scholarships to more than 300 aspiring tradespeople. As in past years, 2024 recipients include a broad mix of plumbers, electricians, welders, mechanics, pipe fitters, HVAC specialists, blacksmiths, cosmetologists, and many other skilled workers seeking to enter careers that don’t require an expensive four-year degree.
“It’s been really gratifying to help train the next generation of skilled tradespeople,” said Mike Rowe, CEO of mikeroweWORKS. “The opportunities to prosper in the trades today are astonishing, and shining a light on those opportunities has been a real privilege.”
With this latest round of scholarships, Rowe’s foundation will have awarded nearly $12 million in work ethic scholarships to more than 2,000 Americans, making mikeroweWORKS the largest trade school scholarship fund in the country. Along with its scholarship program, mikeroweWORKS is also leading the charge to reinvigorate the trades by challenging the myths and misperceptions that keep so many people from exploring a vocational career.
“It’s not enough to simply award scholarships to qualified applicants,” said Rowe. “If we really want to close the skills gap, we need to change perceptions in the broadest possible way. That means better PR for the trades. We need to show Americans that lots of skilled tradespeople are making a very comfortable six-figure salary, setting their own schedules, and finding real meaning and fulfillment in their work.”
Scholarship recipient Carlyn McClelland, Construction Estimator
Scholarship recipient Chloe Hudson, Welder
Scholarship recipient Zachary White, RHVAC
For nearly a decade, the ratio of baby boomers retiring to those entering the workforce has been 5:2, according to Skillwork. The resulting “skills gap” has widened, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in May that there are 8.1 million open positions—the majority of which do not require a four-year degree—and caused a labor shortage that’s left our workforce profoundly out of balance. Meanwhile, the cost of college has soared, leaving nearly 44 million Americans with $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. And yet, high school graduates are still encouraged—often by well-meaning parents and guidance counselors—to borrow vast sums of money to attend universities that continue to raise their tuition, leaving millions indebted and untrained for the many vocational jobs waiting to be filled.
“Ever since we took shop class out of high school, we’ve been telling our kids that the best path for the most people is a four-year degree,” said Rowe. “And for decades now, we’ve been lending money we don’t have to kids who can never pay it back, so they can buy a diploma that no longer guarantees them a job. That has to stop. At mikeroweWORKS, we’re telling an honest story about college debt, and making a persuasive case for the many opportunities that exist in the skilled trades. That’s what we’ve been doing since Labor Day of 2008, and that’s what we’ll be doing this Labor Day. And hopefully, for many Labor Days to come.”
For more information about the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, visit mikeroweworks.org. RF
