SkillsUSA, Lyft and Ford fund rides to skilled trades training

Transportation can be the quiet barrier that keeps a motivated student from a skilled-trades career. SkillsUSA, Lyft and Ford Philanthropy tried to answer that problem on June 4 in Atlanta, announcing a ride-credit program expected to provide more than 3,000 rides across 13 cities for students trying to reach apprenticeships, technical training and job interviews.

The announcement came during the SkillsUSA Workforce Development Summit at the 62nd annual National Leadership & Skills Conference, which ran in Atlanta from June 1-6 and drew more than 19,000 attendees. SkillsUSA said advisors will be able to request transportation help for students facing barriers, a small logistical step that can decide whether a student keeps moving toward a job or falls out of the pipeline altogether.

Ford Philanthropy said transportation is often one of the biggest barriers to progress, and that reliable, affordable transportation can affect access to education and work opportunities. The pilot is set to begin in July and run through the end of 2026, with CollisionWeek reporting that Ford Philanthropy is backing it with a $100,000 grant. For companies trying to hire from the trades, the message is straightforward: access does not end with a training seat. It also depends on whether a person can get to the shop, the campus or the interview on time.

That point lands at Home Depot, where the trades pipeline is not an abstract policy issue. The company says Path to Pro launched nationally in 2021 and now has more than 60,000 unique graduates of its Skills Training Program and more than 100,000 candidates in its network. Home Depot has also said 94% of its Pro customers have a hard time finding skilled workers, while the broader labor gap includes about 400,000 open trade jobs and a projected retirement of 40% of current construction workers by 2031.

Home Depot has already put serious money behind the problem. The Home Depot Foundation first launched a $50 million trades-training commitment in 2018 to address then-150,000 open construction roles, and in 2025 said it was investing $10 million more to broaden access to skilled trades training and education, including a $1 million partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Path to Pro resources are available in English and Spanish, another sign that the company sees the trades funnel as broader than a single storefront or a single customer base.

SkillsUSA, Lyft and Ford Philanthropy are now pushing the same idea from another angle: if transportation blocks entry, then commute support becomes workforce strategy. For Home Depot stores, Pro desks and hiring managers, that could matter most in the hard-to-fill technical roles where a ride can be the difference between interest and a first paycheck.