Professional Trades Month spotlights high-wage, in-demand career opportunities for Michiganders

LANSING, Mich. — With more than 520,000 Michigan jobs and approximately 45,500 annual openings in the professional trades projected by the year 2030, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joins the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to proclaim May as Professional Trades Month. The annual observance honors hard-working Michiganders in professional trades while encouraging students and adults to explore education and career opportunities leading to high-wage, in-demand careers.

“Professional trades workers build and maintain the infrastructure that ensures Michiganders have clean water, reliable energy, safe places to live and work, and smooth roads to travel on,” said Governor Whitmer. “Careers in the professional trades are paths to the middle class for so many people and offer economic security to workers and their families. Since I took office, we have expanded paths to these good-paying, in-demand jobs that require little or no debt. Let’s keep working together to support professional trades workers and ensure everyone can ‘make it’ in Michigan.”

Many businesses require highly skilled workers to fill a multitude of professional trades positions which can offer economic self-sufficiency to Michigan workers. 

“Hardworking Michiganders in professional trades careers earn a good living while doing jobs that benefit their families and communities,” said LEO Director Susan Corbin. “Professional Trades Month is an excellent opportunity to help more Michiganders understand the benefits of these high-skill, high-demand careers, helping us expand access to pathways that lead to economic prosperity and brighter futures.”

Businesses across Michigan need highly skilled workers in sectors such as agriculture, construction, education, energy, healthcare, hospitality, information technology, manufacturing, mobility and outdoor recreation. Many of these high-demand, high-wage careers do not require a four-year degree and have pathways that focus on credentials, certificates, on-the-job training and Registered Apprenticeships.

“We have a generation entering the workforce whose career aspirations have been impacted by the pandemic and gig economy – they are looking for affordable, meaningful opportunities that offer flexibility and independence, and a career in professional trades delivers on all counts,” said LEO’s Office of Employment and Training Director Stephanie Beckhorn. “With a relatively low barrier to entry, more flexible work schedules and enormous demand for their expert skills, a career in the professional trades can be empowering and rewarding.”

State Apprenticeship Expansion is an innovative approach to help prepare Michigan’s future workforce. Registered Apprenticeships are career training programs in which apprentices gain paid work experience, related classroom instruction and a national industry-recognized credential upon program completion. These programs often lead to high paying careers with a median one-year-after completion wage of $74,400 among those who completed training in 2021. This was significantly greater than the 2022 median statewide wage of $45,500. Currently, there are more than 1,000 programs and nearly 20,000 active apprentices in Michigan.  “Apprenticeships in professional trades not only offer a pathway to fulfilling careers at Power Solutions but also serve as a cornerstone for our company's growth, providing hands-on training and mentorship,” said Erin Doan, Chief Innovation Officer at Power Solutions Group, an electrical contractor in Fraser. “As we navigate an evolving workforce landscape, investing in apprenticeships ensures a steady pipeline of skilled workers, meeting the demands of our industry today and in the future.”

Another important tool in preparing Michiganders for careers in professional trades is the Going PRO Talent Fund. The Talent Fund helps individuals secure employment, industry-recognized credentials and strong wages by providing training grants to Michigan businesses to support employees in high-demand, professional trades industries. Since its launch in 2014, the Talent Fund has helped more than 7,100 Michigan businesses train more than 175,000 workers.

“Advanced Tooling Systems, as an employer, needs employees who are looking to become skilled tradesmen. The Going PRO Talent Fund has allowed us to provide more classroom and educational opportunities for our new hires and apprentices,” said Samuel King, Controller at Advanced Tooling Systems in Grand Rapids. “Our company benefits by having more employees with a higher level of skill, and our employees benefit because this allows us to increase compensation and provide a better product to our customers.”

Michigan also provides several resources that support career awareness and exploration for those interested in pursuing a new or different professional opportunity.

The State of Michigan’s official career exploration resource, Pathfinder, allows users to explore careers and identify educational opportunities throughout the state. Pathfinder helps Michiganders make informed choices about educational and career options and plans to reach their goals. This free online tool uses labor market information, wage data and other metrics to best match users and their skills with career paths and jobs.

Those ready to find their first, next or another job, should visit Pure Michigan Talent Connect, the state’s online platform for connecting job seekers and employers, to create a free account and connect with employers who have immediate needs.

LEO and the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics have also created valuable resources to help Michiganders follow career and labor trends. These include Michigan’s Hot 50 report, which covers high-wage, in-demand careers that show a favorable mix of long-term job growth, projected annual job openings, and median wages; Michigan’s Career Outlook report, which provides multiple lists of in-demand occupations by education and training requirements; and Regional Career Outlook reports, which provide breakdowns of career outlook data in each of the state’s 10 regions.

Professional Trades Month supports the Michigan Statewide Workforce Plan aimed at building upon our state’s existing successes in workforce development by providing clear, shared strategies that have the scale and reach to make a meaningful impact. View the full Statewide Workforce Plan on the Michigan Workforce Development Board web page.

Visit Michigan.gov/AllAccess to learn more about supports available to connect Michiganders and businesses with the opportunities and unique resources they need to build a better future.

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