This essay is a part of The Right Way Forward, Restoring America’s new think tank debate series in which leading conservative institutions argue the defining questions of the post-Trump era. Read about the series here.
Every factory that returns to American soil, every semiconductor plant that breaks ground, every shipyard that restarts production brings with it the same question: Where are the workers?
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Under President Donald Trump, the United States is set to witness a new golden age of manufacturing. Tariffs have reshaped supply chains, while foreign direct investment is skyrocketing. In both site plans and groundbreakings, reshoring is a welcome reality. But that growth will be short-lived without American workers trained and ready for these jobs.
The problem is urgent. According to a recent survey, roughly 45% of manufacturers responded that “attracting and retaining a quality workforce” is one of their biggest challenges. As of August 2025, roughly 409,000 manufacturing jobs sat vacant. Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute project that 3.8 million new manufacturing workers will be needed by 2033, with as many as 1.9 million positions at risk of going unfilled if current trends hold.
The dearth of skilled manufacturing labor is a failure of our nation’s education system. The federal student loan portfolio is set to surpass $1.7 trillion, yet institutions have faced zero accountability for graduating students into fields with limited labor market demand. The Trump administration took a step toward addressing this imbalance, issuing a proposed rule that would tie federal aid eligibility directly to graduates’ earnings outcomes. Congress must codify that framework to ensure a future administration cannot reverse it.
Several generations of young people were peddled the myth that a four-year college degree was the only road to prosperity and dignity. In pursuit of that lie, high school shop classes gave way to college counseling offices while both funding and prestige were stripped from vocational and trade programs. The result was a generation steered away from the trades just as those careers were becoming more essential, and often more lucrative, for the nation’s economic strength.
The Biden administration fecklessly compounded the damage, spending billions subsidizing the existing system and wanting to spend hundreds of billions forgiving student loans without any meaningful reforms or accountability. Meanwhile, students who took on significant debt for degrees in fields with limited economic return are delaying major life milestones.
American businesses aren’t waiting on Washington to act. According to the Department of Labor, the number of active registered apprentices grew 77.43% between 2016 and 2025 — numbers that will only rise with the Trump administration’s simplification of apprenticeship requirements this past March. Ninety-three percent of registered apprentices who completed their program were retained by their employer and earned an average salary of $86,000.
For years, policymakers lacked the tools to see what was really happening. Federal data could show that a graduate was “employed” — but not whether they were working as a welder or an Uber driver, let alone their compensation. The system that buried millions of student borrowers in debt will collapse entirely unless earnings data begin to drive federal dollars. Programs that place graduates into well-paying jobs in high-demand fields must be prioritized, while those that fail to do so should no longer receive federal subsidies.
After years of federal foot-dragging, the legislative foundations have finally been laid. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (enacted during Trump’s first term) require workforce training programs to align with local labor market needs. The Working Families Tax Cuts Act from last year built on that foundation, creating Workforce Pell Grants to support short-term training programs, including related instruction for apprentices, that prepare participants for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations.
But without more meaningful employment outcome data to hold anyone accountable, these requirements will remain aspirational. Congress should require programs receiving federal workforce funding to demonstrate that their graduates secure relevant jobs at competitive wages and expand Workforce Pell to make it available to every eligible apprentice.
Community colleges and regional technical institutions are already partnering with local employers to build programs around open positions: training welders where welders are needed and training HVAC technicians where HVAC technicians are scarce. That model must be expanded. Federal workforce grants should prioritize institutions that can demonstrate employer commitments and job placement pathways on the back end.
The administration’s policies have opened a window to American opportunity, but it will not stay open long. Shipyards in Virginia and semiconductor factories in Arizona need skilled workers before contracts are even finalized.
INDUSTRIAL POLICY IS NOT POPULIST
Trump is bringing manufacturing jobs home. Congress must ensure the American workforce is ready to fill them.
Michael Faulkender serves as co-chairman for American Prosperity at the America First Policy Institute. He previously served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
Michael Shires serves as vice chairman for Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute.
