‘A very leaky pipeline’: 1.7 million trade jobs will open each year through 2035—and experts are scrambling to figure out how to fill them

Two men operate a machine to string guitars. (Credit: Jim West—UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Mike Rowe, the host of TV show Dirty Jobs, recently offered a sobering diagnosis for the state of skilled trades jobs today: “For every five tradespeople who retire this year, two replace them.” “Five out, two in,” Rowe said during a Ford Pro Accelerate panel on workforce development. “I don’t care how you vote. I don’t care what your politics are. Math doesn’t care either.

“How long do you want to wait for your toilet to get fixed?” he added. “How long do you want to wait for the lights to come back on when you flip the switch?”