Tractor Supply Company is partnering with Carhartt with the goal to help close the country’s skilled trades gap. Tractor Supply will be the exclusive retailer of two styles of “Support the Trades” shirts designed by Carhartt to benefit SkillsUSA.
Support the Trades shirts are available now in Tractor Supply retail locations and at TractorSupply.com. The two options available are a charcoal gray long-sleeve T-shirt and a navy short-sleeved T-shirt.
For every shirt sold, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to SkillsUSA, a nonprofit that serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. Tractor Supply and Carhartt have each committed to a $50,000 maximum donation, totaling $100,000.
The United States is facing a rapidly growing shortage of qualified workers in the skilled trades, which include the construction, manufacturing, transportation, service, and healthcare sectors. According to Forbes, more than 3 million trade jobs will remain open in the U.S. by 2028. Further, Associated Builders and Contractors projects that the demand for construction workers will rise by 1.3 million to 2 million jobs by 2023. Additionally, with a quarter of current trade workers expected to retire within the next five years, the number of available positions is expected to far outpace the supply of qualified workers.
You can see the short-sleeve shirt here:
… and the long-sleeve shirt here:
SkillsUSA partners with students, teachers and industry professionals to build America’s skilled workforce. Their framework provides students with workplace and technical skills grounded in academics, as well as valuable industry connections. Its curriculum covers 130 job categories, creating a pipeline of talented entry-level workers. With the donation from the Support the Trades campaign, SkillsUSA will have the ability to expand its reach and offer its training capabilities to even more students.
“Tractor Supply, Carhartt and SkillsUSA all share a common goal: to equip America’s hardworking tradespeople with everything needed to be successful for Life Out Here, whether it’s training, clothing or equipment,” said Jeff Rietveld, Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager at Tractor Supply. “As the skilled trades gap widens, it is more important than ever that we work together to develop and support individuals to fill these important roles.”
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