Home Depot has made headlines in recent months. Even before its stores became a target site for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents seeking to detain noncitizen day laborers, its corporate foundation was in the news for committing $1 million for Southern Californian wildfire relief in January. But as former homeowners seeking to rebuild in the wake of those wildfires have discovered, it can be hard to find someone who knows how to frame a house, install plumbing, do electricity or handle HVAC — especially now, with migrant laborers facing the threat of detention on job sites. Now, the Home Depot Foundation is helping address the gap in homegrown skilled labor through a $10 million, two-year partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The pilot program, which kicked off in August, aims to introduce more than 1,000 young people in Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix to the tools and techniques of the trades and help prepare some for lucrative jobs as plumbers, carpenters, electricians, HVAC specialists and more.
The current initiative is part of the Home Depot Foundation’s $50 million commitment to skilled trades training through its Path to Pro program, begun in 2018. Home Depot, founded by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in 1978, is the world’s largest home improvement retailer, operating more than 2,300 stores across North America. The Home Depot Foundation is no slouch either: It gave out about $90 million in 2024 across its three priorities funding areas — disaster relief, veterans causes and skilled trades training. Its philanthropy, particularly that focused on trades, showcases how a corporate foundation can use its money to bolster the broader ecosystem around its parent company’s core business concerns, similar to the way that some financial services firms invest in financial literacy.
Why investing in the skilled trades makes sense now
This is a particularly auspicious time for skilled trades training, given factors such as the cost of college, the rise of AI threatening so many knowledge workers, and the 400,000 open jobs in the construction trades today, projected to grow to 3.9 million in the next decade. “At the same time, less than 3% of young people are interested in pursuing a career in the skilled trades,” said Erin Izen, executive director of the Home Depot Foundation, speaking to IP through email.
“Many students believe they can only earn a good living by pursuing a traditional four-year degree, and many shop classes in schools were cut in the last two decades as high schools across the country focused on college readiness,” said Izen. “We’re working to show students, and even adults who may want to change careers, that a job in the skilled trades is lucrative, fulfilling and often a creative outlet for those who seek more hands-on work as opposed to working in an office environment.”
Fun with carpentry: building piggy banks and Adirondack chairs
The pilot kicked off with a day of building at the Warren Boys & Girls Club in central Atlanta. More than 45 adult members of “Team Depot” — associate volunteers of the company — showed up at the club to guide more than 200 club members aged five to 18 in the art of carpentry. Younger kids built piggy banks; teenagers worked in teams of two to assemble bright green Adirondack chairs. Team Depot members had spent a few weeks preparing for the event by visiting the club, assessing its needs and designing the day around it.
“The younger kids got to use hammers and nails. Team Depot members worked alongside our teen members, guiding them in safety and using tools,” said Marlon Montgomery, vice president of youth development at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, which includes Warren Club, two-dozen other club sites and a year-round, 160-acre residence camp called Camp Kiwanis. “Having a caring adult in the room that is paying attention to the teen, letting them know I’m here for you. It was very impactful that day.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America began in 1860, when four women opened a center in Hartford, Connecticut, to attract local boys who were otherwise roaming the streets. Their vision was a fun place that also focused on character development, improved behavior and increased personal expectations and goals. Today, more than 5,500 clubs serve more than 4 million boys and girls, offering a variety of programs designed to boost academic success, leadership, character, development, health and wellness, and workforce readiness. Montgomery said that the day of building aligned with the clubs’ approach of creating a fun environment for learning.
“We saw a ton of excitement among the younger kids, a lot of joy and a lot of laughter. They were excited, tapping me on the shoulder, saying, ‘Look at this! I figured it out.’ The same thing was true with teen groups,” said Montgomery. “Of course, there was some pizza involved, which was a huge plus. Kids were proud of themselves. This was the first time for many of them to put something together on their own. We saw the lightbulbs going off in the room. It was a great opportunity to show them that they can achieve.”
The next step in Atlanta will be to choose 20 teens to go through a semester-long program, likely an overview of trades presented in a curriculum designed by the Home Builders’ Institute, a nonprofit that provides training and education for people wanting to work in the building industry. Exact details are still being worked out, but the program will likely kick off this fall, said Montgomery: “Getting that hands-on experience is a perfect match for metro Atlanta. We wanted our kids to be exposed to STEM learning, to be exposed to a pathway. We had that goal but hadn’t identified a way to expose our members to the skilled trades. So this was a perfect time for us. We want them to be ready for life after school.”
Lisa Anastasi, executive vice president, chief development and external relations officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, said she thinks club kids are ideally situated to take advantage of this opportunity, in part because of the programming they’ve already experienced. “We have a strong focus on academic success and we work with them on leadership and character development, so they are responsible, friendly, they show up on time, they can interact with adults. They’ve also been exposed to a lot of experiences,” she said. “They are naturally more prepared for that first job than your standard highschooler would be.”
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Anastasi said this is the largest investment the Home Depot Foundation has made in the Boys & Girls Clubs. It evolved from smaller, local initiatives with Home Depot over the years; her team then reached out to explore a deeper partnership. Her advice for other nonprofits serving youth and/or focused on the skilled trades: Think expansively about possible partnerships and funders. “Sometimes, people think only of the big names, but many types of organizations could be a great partner, not just the big names. Take the Home Builders Institute, for example. Their work in the skilled trades has been very valuable,” she said.
Foundations and other organizations focused on STEM, AI, and technology could be good partners for youth- and skilled trades-focused nonprofits because these play an increasing role in work. “For example, in the HVAC space, they are moving away from just having reactive diagnosis of HVAC problems to more proactive diagnosis run by technology,” she said. “That is a real change in the industry more broadly.”
Anastasi also advises nonprofits to get clear about their unique strengths — and pitch them. “We do things really, really well at scale. There is no other place where you can reach 4.2 million youth and teens in a year. So we use that as our market differentiator.”
Why investing in construction jobs might outsmart AI
While technology continues to impact the trades in a variety of ways, such as assisting with scheduling crews, designing homes, and even ordering materials, the hands-on work still requires, well, human hands. As Anastasi put it, “AI can’t fix a hole in your roof or your plumbing. The actual skilled trades labor will always be needed. This is why we think it is such a great path for exploration. These are really lucrative, family-supporting careers. And we can showcase that in ways that normal highschoolers don’t get a chance to see.”
