Home Depot Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America partner on skilled trade program
The Home Depot Inc. is expanding its investment in the skilled trades through a new partnership with a longstanding after-school organization.
The Home Depot Foundation is investing $10 million to broaden access to skilled trades training and education, including a new $1 million partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), designed to introduce more young people to career opportunities in the construction trades.
Through the foundation's Path to Pro program – focused on helping to fill the skilled labor gap – the partnership with BGCA launches a two-year pilot at clubs across Atlanta, Phoenix and Houston that will introduce more than a thousand children and teens to careers in carpentry, electrical, HVAC and plumbing.
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"The skilled trades offer some of the most promising career paths, yet many young people either aren't aware of or lack access to these opportunities," said Erin Izen, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. "This investment in our Path to Pro nonprofit partners – including our new partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America – empowers students to hone these new skills while also strengthening the future of the construction industry."
Integrated within Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Life & Workforce Readiness Program, club members will “learn new skills, gain hands-on experiences and have opportunities to apply their skills by working alongside Team Depot, The Home Depot's associate volunteer force, on community-based projects.”
"At Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we're committed to helping young people explore meaningful opportunities that set them up for success," said Jennifer Bateman, senior VP of youth development at BGCA. "This partnership with The Home Depot Foundation opens doors to skilled trades careers, empowering thousands of youth to discover their potential and build great futures."
Beyond the partnership with BGCA, The Home Depot Foundation’s new investment also helps expand programming with existing partners, such as Home Builders Institute, which will use funds to grow its pre-apprenticeship certification to nearly 2,000 more high school students and 25 additional schools, continue its initiative with 100 Black Men of America, and maintain its military transition programs focused on trades training, certification and job placement.
New grants will also support separating service members, military families and veterans, such as through Folds of Honor scholarships for those entering or enrolling in accredited trade schools. Construction Ready and SkillPointe Foundation will also receive funding for classroom and hands-on training and scholarships that will help assist students pursuing careers in the skilled trades.
These new initiatives from the foundation co-exist alongside the company's Path to Pro programs, including the free online Skills Program and the Path to Pro Network, which now has a database of more than 65,000 candidates seeking employment in the skilled trades.
At the end of the second quarter, Atlanta-based The Home Depot operated a total of 2,353 retail stores and more than 800 branches across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company employs more than 470,000 associates.
