Stanley Black & Decker has announced the launch of a five-year commitment of up to $25 million in support of vocational skills training and reskilling programs in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

Part of the company's corporate social responsibility program, the "Empower Makers" Global Impact Challenge will award grants totaling up to $5 million a year to nonprofits supporting trade workforce development initiatives. The initiative is expected to skill and reskill up to three million makers over five years.

According to the company, due to a lack of skilled trade workers, there are four hundred and thirty thousand open construction jobs in the United States and ten million unfilled manufacturing jobs globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, with millions of workers displaced, while the shift to remote and hybrid learning has been a challenge for career and technical education schools and classes.

"Stanley Black & Decker's support of the skilled trades is fantastic for the nonprofit community," said Shelley Halstead, founder of Black Women Build in Baltimore, which trains Black women in carpentry, electrical, and plumbing skills by restoring vacant and deteriorated houses in West Baltimore. "Organizations like ours work really hard to make an impact in our communities and provide the training for women to have fulfilling careers. But it's pretty much impossible without financial support from companies or individuals who believe in what we do. We will definitely be applying for an Impact Challenge grant so we can introduce more women and minorities to the trades and close the skills gap."