1 in 3 Rhode Island Skilled Trades Workers are over 55. Are There Trained Workers Behind Them?

A new report from the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades finds Rhode Island is facing a significant generational challenge in its skilled-trades workforce, even as demand for these workers continues to grow.

This is particularly significant as a timely update from the latest jobs report.

New Rhode Island-specific data from the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades finds that 31.4% of the state’s skilled trades workforce is age 55 or older — nearly 1 in 3 workers — highlighting the workforce challenge as more skilled trades workers approach retirement.

Rhode Island also ranks 17th nationally for its skilled trades training pipeline, with employment in these fields projected to grow 6.5% through 2034.

September showed modest gains in construction and manufacturing, but the larger workforce challenge remains: the U.S. is training just 55 workers for every 100 skilled trades jobs employers need to fill.

In Rhode Island, nearly 1 in 3 skilled trades workers are already age 55 or older.

Other Rhode Island findings:

Only 8% of RI’s skilled-trades workers are under 25.

Some good news is that Rhode Island ranks No. 17 nationally for its skilled-trades training pipeline, outperforming its New England neighbors including Massachusetts at No. 49 and Maine at No. 51

Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and machinists are among the trades facing some of the greatest labor-shortage pressure in the state.

Median skilled-trades pay in Rhode Island is approximately $62,000, about $2,000 above the national average.

The State of America’s Skilled Trades provides a state-by-state and trade-by-trade look at the workforce and training pipeline.

Nationally, the report finds that approximately 1.7 million skilled-trades openings will need to be filled each year, while training programs are currently producing just 55 workers for every 100 needed.

The Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades was founded by BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford and Google, with Ford helping bring the national effort together around the skilled-trades workforce and talent pipeline.

There is more on the report and the Alliance’s work in its national announcement here: https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2026/alliance-for-americas-skilled-trades-expands-national-report

The full report and searchable dashboard are available at skilledtradesreport.com, and the national announcement is available here:

The Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades is a coalition of leading American companies committed to closing the nation’s skilled trades gap by expanding access to training, apprenticeships, and meaningful career pathways.

The State of America’s Skilled Trades: A National Report is one of the Alliance’s first collective deliverables, providing a shared, accurate foundation of data that every stakeholder can trust and build from. The report examines the forces shaping supply and demand across jobs and regions, to show where workforce systems are working well, where they’re under strain, and where focused action can make the biggest difference.

To help state and local leaders, employers, education and training providers, and others put these findings to work, the Alliance has launched the America’s Skilled Trades Dashboard — an interactive tool that breaks down the data occupation by occupation and state by state, making it easy to explore local labor market conditions, identify where the need is greatest, and compare progress across geographies.

America’s Skilled Trades Dashboard tracks six interconnected indicators of the skilled trades workforce.

The Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades is a coalition of leading American companies committed to closing the nation’s skilled trades gap by expanding access to training, apprenticeships, and meaningful career pathways.

The Report is one of the Alliance’s first collective deliverables, providing a shared, accurate foundation of data that every stakeholder can trust and build from. The report examines the forces shaping supply and demand across jobs and regions, to show where workforce systems are working well, where they’re under strain, and where focused action can make the biggest difference.

America’s Skilled Trades Dashboard tracks six interconnected indicators of the skilled trades workforce.