Home Depot launches skilled trades education initiative

The Home Depot is expanding its commitment to address the skilled labor gap with a new omnichannel job training and placement program.

The home improvement giant, which pledged $50 million to train 20,000 tradespeople over the next 10 years in 2018, is building on that effort with a new education and job placement program called Path to Pro. 

Path to Pro aims to educate more people in the skilled trades, connect skilled tradespeople with jobs and careers, and generate interest in trade professions through educational campaigns. The Home Depot is investing in training from entry-level to advanced certifications, and recently sponsored its first weeklong boot camp to teach essential industry skills like job site safety, tool usage, material handling, and communication and professional skills. 

The boot camp is piloting in the Atlanta area, with plans to expand into additional markets in 2021. Graduates earn a Home Depot certificate that recognizes construction skills and professional fundamentals.

Additionally, in early 2021, Home Depot will launch a website to serve a centralized resource allowing people to search local training programs, licensing requirements and open jobs in the trades. The site will feature day-in-the-life videos and stories for each trade, with projected industry growth and salary information in industries like electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and HVAC.

The Home Depot will also introduce a new, proprietary online platform to increase access to networking between skilled tradespeople and the company's Pro contractor customers. Training program graduates will be able to showcase their work portfolio, experience and additional qualifications, and be contacted by Home Depot Pro customers in their area looking for skilled labor hires.

The Home Depot operates 2,295 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, and Mexico.